Junior exploration stock soars on copper results

Stockhouse Canadian Small and Micro-cap Stock Report for Thursday, July 3, 2008

TORONTO (SHfn) - Speculators took a shine to copper drill results Thursday, while a biotech stock popped on psoriasis data.

VMS Ventures (TSX: V.VMS, Stock Forum) shares soared 16% to 71 cents on Thursday after the micro-cap miner reported results from its ongoing exploration program at the Reed Lake Discovery Zone near Snow Lake, Manitoba, which included 33.46 metres of 10.36% copper.

As well, shares of Advitech (TSX: V.AVI, Stock Forum) shot up 30% to 6.5 cents as the biotech firm said a double blind, placebo-controlled study has confirmed the efficacy of Dermylex on mild-to-moderate psoriasis at a daily dosage of 800 mg per day.

Railpower Technologies (TSX: T.P, Stock Forum), meanwhile, announced the successful completion of a series of demonstrations of the RP20BD to various California shortline railroads. The company claims the RP20BD design, when compared with a conventional GP38 locomotive, increases advanced adhesion in certain operational conditions by about 54%, fuel consumption is reduced up to 45%, and reductions of NOx and particulate matter emissions are 80% and 90%, respectively. Railpower stock popped 20% to 54 cents.

Shares of Arianne Resources (TSX: V.DAR, Stock Forum) climbed 21% to 8.5 cents after the junior miner reported the acquisition of 38 additional claims in order to increase the size of its phosphorus-titanium properties north of Lac St-Jean in Quebec.

And, Upper Lake Oil and Gas (TSX: T.UP, Stock Forum) Thursday announced that Monterey Exploration, a private oil and gas company, will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Upper Lake. Under the terms of the agreement, shareholders of Upper Lake will receive 0.28 of a common share of Monterey for each Upper Lake Share held. Based on Monterey's year-end 2007 net asset value of $3.32 per share, the total purchase price is about $32 million, comprised of approximately $26 million of equity value and the assumption of about $6.0 million of net debt. Its shares powered 49% higher to $1.25.