** Shares of James Bay Minerals rise as much as 11.4% to A$0.735, their largest intraday pct gain since Dec. 3

** Specialty miner, with operations in North America, reports mineralization of high-grade copper and silver at its Independence gold project in Nevada, U.S.A.

** Co says project had little focus outside of gold, but drilling results reveal significant potential for copper and high-grade silver

** Stock up ~131.8% YTD, including current session's moves

(Reporting by Nikita Maria Jino in Bengaluru)

((Nikita.Jino@thomsonreuters.com;))