Mosman Oil and Gas continues exploration in two Canadian mining investments

(ShareCast News) - Mosman Oil and Gas invested in two Canadian listed mining companies and made strategic exploration work on existing permits.In a trading update the company said for its first venture it invested C$400,000 in GEM International Resource in May which consisted of 8m shares at 5 Canadian cents and 8m two year C$0.15 non-transferable options.The Australia and New Zealand focused oil company said initial exploration will commence in July as planning and logistics were underway. Heavy equipment is expected on site around September.In its the second venture, the AIM listed company subscribed 2m shares in oil company Hemisphere Energy, which has assets in Alberta, Canada, at a cost of 19 Canadian cents a share amounting to C$380,000, or AU$394,000.Oil company Hemisphere Energy had an average production of about 508 barrels of oil per day, in the first quarter of the year.The subscription was part of a larger 4.5m shares placing by Hemisphere Energy, which closed on 12 July and raised C$1.9m. The company said the funds will be used for drilling and development to increase production.Mosman said it is in a "sound" financial position with cash and market value of investments of about AU$4.75m. The cash is held in three currencies (GBP, AUD, NZD) and took into account recent unrealised FOREX losses of over AU$250,000 due to the recent volatility of sterling.The company said strategic and focused exploration work continued on its existing permits at Murchison Permit, Petroleum Creek and Taramakau permit in New Zealand, and the Amadeus Basin permit in Australia.Shares in Mosman Oil and Gas fell 8.48% to 0.961p at 1349 BST.