Find Diamonds, Make Money

[Tackler]

Interesting, this thing was 61¢ a week ago...

Tsodilo TSD to raise $127,610 at $1.12 privately

2004-09-16 18:45 ET - News Release

Mr. James Bruchs reports

TSODILO RESOURCES LIMITED: PRIVATE PLACEMENT

Tsodilo Resources Ltd. has negotiated a non-brokered private placement of 113,938 units of the company at a price of $1.12 per unit for proceeds to the company of $127,610. Each unit consists of one common share of the company and half a warrant of the company, each full such warrant entitling the holder to purchase one common share of the company at a price of $1.12 for a period of two years. Closing of this transaction is subject to regulatory approval. Proceeds from this financing will be added to the company's working capital.

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Hudson Resources finds diamonds, expands licence area

2004-09-15 14:35 ET - News Release

Mr. James Tuer reports

HUDSON ANNOUNCES LARGEST GREENLAND DIAMOND FIND AND EXPANDS LICENCE AREA

Hudson Resources Inc. has recovered a total of 120 diamonds greater than 106 microns in size from one sample location in west Greenland (see sieve results reported below). Of these diamonds, nine are classified as macrodiamonds (defined as remaining on the plus-0.5-millimetre-square mesh sieve). The three largest diamonds measured 1.90 by 1.70 by 1.42 millimetres; 1.98 by 1.34 by 0.98 millimetres; and 1.56 by 1.40 by 1.16 millimetres. This 107.9-kilogram kimberlite sample also contained another 31 microdiamonds in the 75-micron size fraction. The complete caustic fusion diamond report prepared by the SRC Geoanalytical Laboratories, including individual stone size and description, is available on the company's website (www.hudsonresources.ca/files/srcreport.pdf).

The sample location has been named Garnet Lake because of the existence of visible garnets in the kimberlite matrix. The total Garnet Lake sample comprises a nodular rich selection of kimberlite (MHG9-5), a portion of matrix-dominant kimberlite (MHG9-7) and a representative kimberlite selection (MHG9- 13) processed separately. Additionally, samples totalling 144.65 kilograms collected from three other localities were marginally diamondiferous, yielding a total of four microdiamonds. The remaining 184.05 kilograms of kimberlite processed from three other localities failed to reveal diamonds.

 
  
 Diamonds in square mesh sieve sizes 
             (microns) 
  
 75 106 150 212 300 425 600 850 1180 
  +   +   +  +   +   +   +   +    + 
  
 MHG9-5 
 14  17  15  18   2   3   -   2    - 
  
 MHG9-7 
  9   4   6   3   3   1   1   1    - 
  
 MHG9-13 
  8  11   9  11   5   6   1   -    1 
  
 Totals 
 31  32  30  32  10  10   2   3    1 
  
 Sample      Weight   Total   Wt+   Wt- 
               (kg)  diamonds 
                      (mg) 
  
 MHG9-5       29.65    71     5.448 1.206 
 MHG9-7       21.20    28     3.769 0.500 
 MHG9-13      57.05    52     8.393 1.303 
 Totals      107.90   151    17.610 3.009 
 

Notes: "wt+" refers to the weight of macrodiamonds (greater than 500 micron); "wt-" refers to the weight of microdiamonds (greater than 75 microns and less than 500 microns).

The Garnet Lake sample site is a narrow drainage leading north into a 200-by-175-metre lake. Kimberlite was found across a width of approximately 15 metres at the mouth of the lake and samples could be traced back at least 40 metres to the south. The kimberlite is closely constrained to the drainage basin. No other kimberlite was found in the immediate area outside the basin or upon surveying around the lake. It is believed, therefore, that the kimberlite has been frost-heaved to the surface from a nearby in situ source below. The company intends to initiate a drill program to confirm the existence of buried in situ kimberlite and to determine its extent.

The Garnet Lake samples and a nearby sample yielding two diamonds were collected from the Sarfartoq exploration licence area. Through a joint venture with New Millennium Resources NL of Perth, Australia, Hudson has an 80-per-cent interest in all minerals except niobium and tantalum. It must meet minimum payments totalling $1-million over a four-year period. It has already met its minimum requirements for 2004.

As a result of these findings, Hudson has made an application to acquire the remaining 89 square kilometres of open ground to the north of the Garnet Lake area. Hudson now has an interest in 1,580 square kilometres (390,425 acres) of exploration ground in the Sarfartoq region of west Greenland (52 per cent of which is a 100-per-cent interest in the licensed and application areas and the balance representing an 80-per-cent interest in the mineral rights as described above).

"We are extremely pleased with the results from the Garnet Lake area," stated James Tuer, president of Hudson. "The really exciting aspect about the find at Garnet Lake is that it validates our belief that there should be further occurrences like this in the region based on the extent of the kimberlite indicator mineral chemistry found in the tills. We are currently undertaking work to determine the chemistry and geophysical response of this source in order to extrapolate it across the licence area. We expect to be in a position to initiate a drill program in February or March of 2005, when we can operate on the ice over the lakes."

The samples were processed by the Geoanalytical Laboratories at the Saskatchewan Research Council in Saskatoon, an independent laboratory. SRC GeoAnalytical Laboratories is accredited to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard by the Standards Council of Canada as a testing laboratory for specific tests. Dr. Mark Hutchison, of Trigon GeoServices Ltd., was in charge of the collection of the samples in Greenland and managed the chain of custody from the field to the SRC. He is co-ordinating the description and scientific interpretation of the finds in order to facilitate continuing exploration and drilling. Dr. John Ferguson oversaw the program and is a qualified person under National Instrument 43-101.

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Consolidated Global Diamond post #msg-3953493

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Shore adds to its haul of Star sparkle

2004-09-02 by Will Purcell

Shore Gold Corp. now has had the diamond results from a fifth batch of kimberlite samples taken from its Star kimberlite complex for a couple of days. The latest set of tests produced a lower grade than what the company had come up with two weeks ago, and without any huge diamonds, Shore's shares took a brief tumble, dropping 45 cents to a low of $2.01 in intraday trading on Tuesday, but bouncing back sharply later in the day and again on Wednesday. Despite the initial reaction, there were no statistical surprises in the latest batch, and Shore seems well on its way to meeting its 3,000-carat goal. Ultimately, it will be the value of the rock and not just the diamond grade that will prove or kill the Star project.

The six latest kimberlite portions weighed a total of 1,578 tonnes and contained 214.13 carats of diamonds, yielding a grade of about 0.136 carat per tonne. Once again there were some notable diamonds in the mix, although at 6.41 carats, the weight of the largest stone was no match for the 19.71-carat stone that was recovered with much market fanfare at the end of July.

The absence of a similar find probably accounted for a part of the gloomier response to the latest results, but expectations had also been boosted by the grade of the fourth set of samples, revealed a few weeks ago. Six lots of kimberlite taken from the 235-metre level had produced 226 carats of diamonds, which was good enough for a grade of 0.18 carat per tonne. That rosy result may have raised the bar of expectations to an unrealistic level.

Shore has now processed 10,924 tonnes of its planned 25,000-tonne test and come up with nearly 1,128 carats, for a sample grade of just over 0.10 carat per tonne. The remaining portion of the Star sample will come from the early Joli Fou phase of kimberlite, which has produced an average grade of about 0.146 carat per tonne. If that value is representative of the remaining rock, Shore would recover an additional 2,059 carats, and that would bring its final tally to nearly 3,200 carats.

That would imply an average grade of about 0.13 carat per tonne, but average grades mean little with the current bulk sample, which is testing two distinct phases of kimberlite with a diamond content that varies by as much as an order of magnitude. As well, Shore appears to be intentionally sampling a part of the pipe that has superior grades, to allow it to collect the largest crop of carats for the lowest cost.

That makes determining the average grade of Star a challenge for investors, but there nevertheless are some valuable clues in the current results. Limiting the sample to just the material excavated from the shaft provides what would essentially be the result from a large vertical hole into the core region of the pipe.

Nearly 2,700 tonnes of material from the upper part of the shaft produced about 65 carats of diamonds, indicating a grade of just 0.024 carat per tonne, but that material originated from the late Joli Fou kimberlite phase. There were just over 2,700 tonnes of kimberlite taken from the lower regions of the shaft, and that earlier phase of Joli Fou rock produced 334 carats, for a grade of 0.123 carat per tonne.

With equal contributions from both phases supplied during the excavation of the shaft, a pessimistic view might suggest that the average grade of Star was a modest 0.07 carat per tonne, a value that is surprisingly comparable with what the company's one reverse circulation drill hole had produced in a 2002 program.

It is not that simple, as the early phase of material is estimated to account for about 80 per cent of the kimberlite within the Star pipe. If so, a logical first guess for the grade of Star as a whole might be around 0.10 carat per tonne, although that would assume that the rock in the vertical shaft is representative of the entire pipe.

There are indications suggesting that may not be the case. Nine batches of rock came from the lower portions of the shaft, and they all had grades varying from just under 0.10 carat per tonne, up to about 0.15 carat per tonne. Since then, Shore has hit a significant region at the 235-metre level of Star that has produced grades that are significantly higher than that.

In all, Shore has processed about 2,343 tonnes of kimberlite from the southeastern drift at the 235-metre mark and the rock has delivered 475.4 carats, for a grade of 0.203 carat per tonne. Some of the batches produced individual grades of up to 0.307 carat per tonne, while the grades of the poorest individual batches of kimberlite within the early Joli Fou phase have remained above 0.09 carat per tonne. That would seem to suggest that Shore may ultimately come up with a calculated grade for Star that will be in excess of 0.10 carat per tonne, with the added potential of higher-grade zones.

Although there were no diamonds larger than 10 carats for speculators to ooh and aah over, the latest crop of carats continued to produce signs that the early Joli Fou kimberlite phase has a coarse diamond size distribution. The last three sets of results have produced 663 carats from that portion of Star, and nearly one-third of the total weight has been contributed by diamonds weighing at least one carat.

That is a toutable proportion of larger diamonds. In 1999, Winspear Resources Ltd. processed over 6,000 tonnes of kimberlite from Snap Lake, coming up with well over 10,000 carats, and just under one-quarter of the weight of the parcel was contributed by diamonds weighing at least one carat.

Star's result appears comparable with what Lytton Minerals Ltd., now known as Tahera Diamond Corp., obtained from a 9,400-tonne test of its Jericho pipe in 1997. The company recovered 10,539 carats during the program, and about one-third of the weight was contributed by diamonds weighing at least one carat. The Jericho pipe produced some large stones in that test, including one that weighed 40 carats and four others that exceeded 20 carats.

Size is a powerful influence on the value of a diamond, and the seemingly coarse size distribution could augur well for the value of the Star diamond parcel. It is not the only influence however, and factors such as colour and clarity can more than make up for a more modest size distribution curve. In fact, Winspear's diamonds were valued in 1999 at about $118 (U.S.) per carat, while the Jericho stones were appraised at just $65 (U.S.) per carat that same year. There have been significant increases in diamond value since then, and the value of the Jericho diamonds has recently been reassessed at about $92 (U.S.) per carat.

Shore Gold thinks that Star could potentially be economic with a diamond value of about $100 (U.S.) per carat, and the company is now optimistic that an appraisal of its diamonds will surpass that hurdle, perhaps by a significant margin.

Speculators are easily distracted by the presence of larger diamonds as a large high-quality stone will carry a hefty value, but the bulk of the value of the diamonds within a deposit is provided by a significant number of quality diamonds weighing between one and five carats.

A good example of the value within a diamond deposit can be gleaned from two mini-bulk samples conducted at the Diavik mine in the mid-1990s. A bit less than 6,000 tonnes of kimberlite was processed from two pipes, producing just under 21,000 carats. The largest diamond weighed nearly 15 carats, but it was of poor quality, as were a number of other diamonds larger than 10 carats.

In fact, the largest gem-quality diamond from A-418 weighed 7.9 carats and the largest gem found in A-154 South weighed just six carats. Aber subsequently published pictures of 10 of its best diamonds and the stones weighed a total of just 39 carats, but with an average value of nearly $1,660 (U.S.) per carat, the tiny parcel accounted for nearly 5 per cent of the then appraised average value of $65 (U.S.) per carat for the Diavik parcels. Meanwhile, the less toutable Diavik diamonds accounted for the remaining 95 per cent of the 21,000-carat parcel.

Things can occasionally work the other way, when a single large diamond commands a particularly high value. In a 2001 mini-bulk test of its AK-5034 pipe in the Northwest Territories, De Beers Canada Corp. recovered 914 carats of diamonds. One of the stones weighed 10 carats and was valued at $60,000 (U.S.), much to the delight of investors.

The market was far less pleased when De Beers modeled the value of the AK-5034 diamonds at just $65.50 (U.S.) per carat, a value that implied the entire 914-carat parcel of diamonds was worth only $59,867 (U.S.), a figure that actually was less than the $60,000 (U.S.) appraised value of the 10-carat stone. That would suggest that De Beers had dismissed its valuable stone as a fluke.

Shore's vice-president of exploration, George Read, said that Shore had not attempted to have any individual diamonds appraised, and the formal assessment is not expected to begin until the sample is complete later this year. As a result, investors will have to wait to find out if Star's diamonds measure up to expectations.

Although most speculators seem far more concerned about the grade and revenue side of things, investors with an interest in engineering matters remain intrigued with just how Mr. Read and Shore plan to build a large mine at Star. If the Star test provides a promotable grade and value, speculators will begin to look for firmer answers to questions about capital and operating costs next year.

Shore had a big rebound Wednesday, adding 39 cents to close at $2.63.

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Superior diamonds posts... #msg-3911828

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Foran Mining post #msg-3866304

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China diamond post #msg-3823892

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Strongbow post #msg-3806654

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SearchGold post #msg-3732087

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Shore's Star shines brighter

2004-08-03 by Will Purcell

Ken MacNeill's Shore Gold Inc. now has its third batch of diamonds from a large bulk test of its Star kimberlite, and the latest numbers have lived up to the company's hopes. If subsequent samples of rock produce results that are comparable with the average for the higher-grade phase of kimberlite, Shore will be able to reach its 3,000-carat target for the 25,000-tonne test and the company will have a sufficiently large parcel to provide a meaningful diamond value. The chances of the Star diamond parcel achieving a value in excess of $100 (U.S.) per carat took another jump with the latest results, and that is good news for Shore and its project.

Shore's latest kimberlite batches weighed 1,573 tonnes and the rock yielded 230.63 carats of diamonds, good enough for a grade of nearly 0.15 carat per tonne. In all, the company now has recovered diamonds from 8,090 tonnes of rock, and the 687 carats indicates a grade of about 0.085 carat per tonne.

For Shore to meet its goal of 3,000 carats from 25,000 tonnes, it will need an additional 2,313 carats from 16,910 tonnes of kimberlite, and that will require a grade of about 0.13 carat per tonne. Based on the healthy diamond content of the latest samples, there would appear to be a good chance that Shore will come up with at least 3,000 carats from its bulk sample program. The company could handily top that mark if the latest samples are representative.

There is a significant difference in the grade of the two main phases of kimberlite within the massive Star pipe. The late Joli Fou phase resides in the upper portion of the pipe, and about 4,554 tonnes of the material has been processed so far, producing a diamond grade of just over 0.04 carat per tonne.

Meanwhile, about 3,536 tonnes of the kimberlite within the higher-grade, early Joli Fou phase in the lower portion of the pipe has produced an average grade of about 0.14 carat per tonne. That figure is no great surprise, as the results of the only other mini-bulk sample of Star suggested that the body had a grade of at least 0.12 carat per tonne in the deeper parts of the pipe, with a diamond content of about 0.14 carat per tonne between 180 metres and 275 metres.

The confirmation of a higher-grade zone within the pipe is encouraging, as it allows Shore to outline a portion of the body that has a healthier rock value than the body as a whole, and that could make coming up with a mine an easier task.

The latest numbers were particularly encouraging, as all four lots of kimberlite from the southeastern drive on the 235-metre level managed to produce a grade with added promotional appeal. About 1,110 tonnes of kimberlite from that portion of Star yielded nearly 223 carats, and that is good enough for a grade of 0.20 carat per tonne.

Furthermore, the size distribution of the diamonds within that portion of Star delivered added promise as well. There were some larger diamonds within the initial batches of rock from the higher-grade zone, but the latest samples topped those recoveries in a big way.

Speculators were particularly enthused by the recovery of a diamond that weighed nearly 20 carats. That stone was perhaps a bit of a fluke for a sample of the current size, but there were two other stones that weighed in excess of five carats, along with a third that came close to that mark, and the size distribution of the latest sample was more promising, even if the one large diamond was entirely discounted.

The average diamond in the 1,110-tonne batch of rock in the southeastern drift at the 235-metre level weighed about 0.15 carat. That was well above the average of about 0.10 carat for the entire Star sample, and eliminating the one large diamond would not materially affect the average diamond size.

That would suggest that there are zones within the higher-grade section of Star that have still higher diamond grades, and there appears to be a good chance that the diamond size distribution within those zones will be superior as well.

Shore's vice-president in charge of corporate development since last spring, George Sanders, said things were going very well, although he added that the latest results reflected the grades that they had always expected to find, somewhere between 15 and 25 carats per hundred tonnes, "with lots of spikes above 25." Mr. Sanders added that Shore had hoped that larger diamonds would show up in some abundance, based upon the data that the company had previously collected.

The larger diamonds and healthy size distribution data increase the chances of Star's diamonds producing an appraisal in excess of $100 (U.S.) per carat, and perhaps by a significant margin.

Shore has not revealed a great amount of detail about its larger diamonds, but there have been 78 stones larger than one carat found in the 8,090 tonnes of kimberlite, and that amounts to about one-quarter of the entire weight of the diamond parcel. That is a healthy proportion, and it could translate into a significant value, based upon the high proportion of white diamonds in the Star samples to date.

For the Star diamonds to reach a value of $150 (U.S.) per carat, the current parcel would have to be worth about $100,000 (U.S.), but the bulk of that value could come from a relatively small fraction of the parcel. For instance, just 35 carats valued at $2,000 (U.S.) per carat would account for about 70 per cent of the required amount, and the remaining 650 carats would then need a value of just $50 (U.S.) per carat to support an average value of $150 (U.S.) per carat.

Still, there is no certainty that Star's diamonds will come close to that mark however, as appraisals of diamonds from the nearby No. 140/141 pipe by De Beers Canada Corp. have not yielded a particularly high value. Over the past few years, about 155 carats of diamonds were priced at about $6,900 (U.S.), or about $45 (U.S.) per carat.

Small parcels typically yield lower appraised values however, and De Beers has modelled the value of its No. 140/141 diamonds at close to $100 (U.S.) per carat. With its haul of larger diamonds, there is increasing confidence that the Star gems will produce a promotable valuation when the bulk sampling program is complete later this year.

Just what rock value will be required to make a mine is a key question that will ultimately have to be answered. Mr. Sanders said that the company has not yet commissioned a scoping study or commenced any feasibility work, but he added that Shore had taken some preliminary looks at other open pit operations to come up with a rough estimate of what the operating and capital costs might be.

Mr. Sanders said that if the Star kimberlite value was above $15 (U.S.), Shore would be "away to the races," and he believes that rock values as low as $10 (U.S.) to $12 (U.S.) might still be "in the ballpark." Mr. Sanders's sports analogies will ultimately have to be replaced with far more formal engineering studies, but the latest samples increase the chances of Star's kimberlite having a potentially economic value.

The capital cost of a Star diamond mine is another question that will have to be answered. In the mid-1990s, Kensington Resources Ltd. commissioned a scoping study that looked at the economics of the region, and that report indicated that a large diamond mine might cost about $800-million to construct. Mr. Sanders said that his company did not think that the cost of a mine would "be anywhere close to that," based on discussions with people involved in building big projects in the tar sands.

Although the bulk sample program will provide a good idea of the value of Star's diamonds, it will not provide a great deal of data about the grade of the big pipe beyond the limited zones that are being sampled. Although the lower-grade rock lies above the better material, Mr. Sanders said it was "certainly not stuff that you would put on the waste pile."

The economics of Star will therefore have to be based upon the deposit as a whole, not just the zone with the highest rock value. If the sample results prove to be representative of the entire pipe, Star might have a grade of about 0.12 carat per tonne, based on a 20-per-cent contribution from the upper zone and an 80-per-cent share of the kimberlite at greater depths.

If so, Shore could well be in the ballpark, or away to the races, depending upon the value of Star's diamonds, although the company will subsequently have to come up with grade projections for other parts of the huge pipe, presumably based on diamond counts from past and future drilling efforts.

The best material lies below a depth of 200 metres in the core of the body, but it can be found at somewhat shallower depths away from that core zone, and that adds a new engineering twist to a hypothetical mine. Mr. Sanders thinks that a future open pit mine might not necessarily start where the current sample is being collected. Instead, Shore might decide to start the pit where the higher-grade rock was closer to the surface.

Shore's shares traded as high as $2.29 early this year, but dipped to a low of $1.03 in late June, after the first set of results from the bulk sample program. Speculators were much more enthused with the latest batch, as Shore hit an intraday high of $1.78 immediately following the news on Thursday, up from a low of just $1.32 earlier that day.

Shore moved up another 33 cents on Friday, closing at $1.98.

[Tackler]

Researchers unearth ancient continental rift activity. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2004-07/uoa-rua072704.php

The discovery suggests presence of diamonds in northern Saskatchewan

Researchers at the University of Alberta have found evidence that a 2,000-kilometre corridor stretching diagonally across northern Canada was under tremendous pressure to split in two about 2.7 billion years ago. It is the first evidence suggesting enormous continental landforms and plate tectonics existed that long ago.

"Rifts are one hallmark of plate tectonics, and there is a huge debate in our field about whether or not large continents and plate tectonics existed on Earth in the Archean age, which is pre-2.5 billion years ago," said Dr. Larry Heaman, a professor of earth sciences at the U of A.

"Our findings suggest that a form of plate tectonics did occur in the Archean," said Dr. Russell Hartlaub, a post-doctoral fellow working with Heaman and lead author of a paper on the Archean rift discovery that appears recently in Precambrian Research.

For the past six years, the researchers have been studying rocks in the northern Lake Athabasca region of Saskatchewan. These rocks are collectively known as the Murmac Bay Group, and they are part of a corridor that runs from northeast Alberta to Baffin Island. Recently, Hartlaub and his colleagues discovered a sequence of Archean rocks--mainly quartzite and basalt--along this corridor that are consistent with "rift-related" activity.

Hartlaub analysed and dated the rocks before determining that the Murmac Bay Group is evidence of a failed rift in the ancient continent that has been named Nunavutia. He estimates the continent was larger than England, France and Germany combined. However, the researchers don't know yet if rifting succeeded in splitting any part of Nunavutia to form an ocean basin.

In studying the Murmac Bay Group, the researchers also discovered minerals in northern Saskatchewan that are 3.9 billion years old, and they've found rocks in the same area that date back 3.1 billion years. Heaman noted that these are some of the oldest minerals ever discovered. (In 1989, Dr. Sam Bowring of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found the oldest rock ever discovered on Earth, dating back four billion years, in Canada's Northwest Territories.)

Aside from the significance of the discovery to researchers trying to understand Earth's history and evolution, minerals this old will certainly draw the attention of people in the diamond exploration industry, Heaman said.

"Virtually all diamond deposits come from areas where you can find ancient crust preserved, such as we've found in northern Saskatchewan," he added.

"It's really exciting to find evidence of this large, ancient continent and these ancient crustal processes," Hartlaub said. "Our next step is to analyse the geochemical signatures of the minerals we've found to see if we can get an even better idea of what our Earth looked like more than two-and-a-half billion years ago."

[mineralme]

Roberto, dmxp just got financing, will probably start drilling. There is a dmxp board here. check it out

MM

[Roberto Stefano]

Has anyone checked out Delta Mining & Exploration (DMXP)? Dr. Rayment former CEO of Bema Gold is the CEO.

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SearchGold post #msg-3367596

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SearchGold post #msg-3193259

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Strongbow Exploration article #msg-3142161

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China Diamond article #msg-3147809

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Consolidated New Sage Resources Seppelt 2 trial mining receives approval

2004-05-04 14:26 ET - News Release

An anonymous director reports

STRIKER ANNOUNCES APPROVAL RECEIVED FOR COMMENCEMENT OF TRIAL MINING SEPPELT 2 DIAMOND PIPE



Consolidated New Sage Resources has provided an update to shareholders and investors regarding its North Kimberly diamond property in Western Australia, which includes both the Ashmore and Seppelt pipes. The company has a free 10-per-cent carried interest in the property, with Striker Resources NL of Perth, Western Australia, holding a 90-per-cent interest. Striker is the operator.

The following update was reported to the Australian Stock Exchange by Striker Resources NL on April 22, 2004:

The company has received consent from the Department of Industry and Resources (DOIR) to commence trial-mining activities at the Seppelt 2 kimberlite pipe in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The approval, which is subject to standard conditions, follows the examination of the company's notice of intent, which was lodged with DOIR in January, 2004.

Trial mining will provide run-of-mine information that will allow the decision to commit to an open-pit mining operation by midyear in order to exploit the high-grade 200-carat-per-100-tonne weathered kimberlite which underlies the infill gravels of 60 carats per 100 tonnes. Information gained from the trial will also be used to examine the viability of establishing underground mining operations.To date, 3,566 carats of diamonds have been recovered from Seppelt 2, which have been independently valued at $35.46 (U.S.) per carat using a one-millimetre cutoff. Using a preferred plus-1.5-millimetre lower-screen cutoff, the value of the diamonds increased to $48 (U.S.) per carat. The largest diamond recovered to date is 8.5 carats in size, valued at $12,500 (U.S.) ($1,500 (U.S.) per carat).A pilot HMS treatment facility and associated infrastructure (owned by the company) is being deployed to the Seppelt 2 site. This plant will treat a sample of approximately 20,000 tonnes of near-surface kimberlite and infill material at a rate of up to 30 tonnes per hour.The trial is expected to recover in excess of 15,000 carats of diamonds (estimated value $1-million (Australian) at the U.S. exchange rate of 75 cents), which will adequately finance the trial-mining program.Seppelt 2 lies on a fissure system that runs for over three kilometres and appears from the test excavation work completed to date, to join the recently discovered Seppelt 5 kimberlite to the north. A sample of weathered kimberlite from Seppelt 5 has reported a very high macrodiamond/microdiamond result, which is consistent with a commercial-size diamond grade in excess of 200 carats per 100 tonnes, as found at Seppelt 2.Further evaluation of the Seppelt 1 resource will be undertaken in conjunction with the Seppelt 2 trial. Seppelt 1 lies five kilometres northeast of Seppelt 2 within the same structural corridor. Seppelt 1 has an inferred resource of 1.7 million tonnes at an average grade of 38.7 carats per 100 tonnes.Announcements with respect to trial-mining diamond recoveries will be made progressively as results come to hand.

The information in this report, which relates to mineral resources, is based on information compiled by Tom Reddicliffe, a full-time employee of the company. Mr. Reddicliffe has relevant experience in relation to the mineralization being reported on to qualify as a competent person as defined in the Australasian Code for Reporting of Identified Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. He has consented to the inclusion of this information in the form and context in which it appears in this report.

[Tackler]

Consolidated New Sage Resources provides details of Australian activities



2003-11-20 15:55 ET - News Release

Mr. Clayton Dodd reports

Consolidated New Sage Resources has provided an update to shareholders and investors regarding its North Kimberly diamond property in Western Australia, which includes both the Ashmore and Seppelt pipes. The company has a free 10-per-cent carried interest in the property, with Striker Resources of Perth, Western Australia, holding a 90-per-cent interest. Striker is the operator.

The following update was reported to the Australian Stock Exchange by Striker on Nov. 18, 2003.

9.23-carat gem diamond

The company advises that it has recovered a 9.23-carat diamond from a due diligence sample taken from a previously excavated Ashmore 2 kimberlite bulk sample.

The diamond is octahedron in shape, of gem quality and is the largest gem quality diamond recovered from the Ashmore pipes.

The due diligence sampling is being undertaken as part of the Ashmore rehabilitation program.

The following update was reported to the Australian Stock Exchange by Striker on Nov. 20, 2003.

High-grade kimberlite confirmed at Seppelt 5

Striker has advised that a sample of weathered kimberlite from Seppelt 5 has reported a very high microdiamond result, which is consistent with a commercial size diamond grade in excess of 200 carats per 100 tonnes.

Eighty-nine macrodiamonds together with 549 microdiamonds were recovered from a 330-kilogram sample.

This result compares very favourably with the microdiamond count previously obtained from Seppelt 2, which reported 441 microdiamonds from a 331-kilogram sample. Seppelt 2 has consistently reported commercial grades in excess of 200 carats per 100 tonnes with over 3,500 carats recovered to date from the bulk sampling of kimberlite with gem quality diamonds up to 8.5 carats in size.

The zone of high-grade kimberlite is extensive and is now over three kilometres in length, encompassing both the Seppelt 2 and Seppelt 5 kimberlite occurrences, which are 2.5 kilometres apart.

Trenching at Seppelt 5 has exposed a kimberlite dike over a distance in excess of 600 metres in length and has been found to have associated brecciated areas and one small blow containing infill gravels.

A 50-tonne bulk sample of mixed kimberlite and infill gravel has been excavated from this blow to test for grade and to provide diamonds for statistical and valuation studies.

The sample awaits processing through Striker's on-site DMS processing plant.

Drill testing of Seppelt 5 is under way and is aimed at investigating the geometry and continuity of the kimberlite at depth.

The following table sets out diamond recovery results from the Seppelt 5 sample.


SEPPELT 5 DIAMOND RECOVERIES

Weight
Number (cts) Size

Micros 549 +0.1 mm to 0.425 mm

Macros 69 +0.425 mm to 0.8 mm

Commer-
cial 20 0.81 +0.8 mm

Total
diamonds 638 +0.1 mm to -3 mm


Details of the commercially sized stone size distribution which has produced an indicative grade of 245.7 carats per hundred tonnes is as follows.


SEPPELT 5 DIAMOND SIZE DISTRIBUTION

Sieve size Number of stones Carats

7DTC one stone 0.178
5DTC six stones 0.362
3DTC four stones 0.082
1DTC nine stones 0.088
Total 20 stones 0.810


Seppelt 2

Excavation of the final sample of mixed kimberlite from Seppelt 2 is completed and processing will commence shortly, aimed at achieving the 4,000-carat diamond parcel for valuation purposes. A diamond parcel of over 3,500 carats is currently in hand. The largest diamond, an 8.5-carat white gem quality stone has been independently valued at $1,500 (U.S.) per carat or $17,800 (Australian).

Drilling at Seppelt 2 aimed at establishing the geometry of the pipe at 200-metre depth is continuing with two of the four planned core holes completed to date.

The 250-metre-long kimberlite fissure, which is up to 1.5 metres wide and associated with Seppelt 2 has been tested at depth with a single drill hole, confirming the presence of a similar kimberlite width at 80-metre depth.

Information in this report, which relates to preresource mineralization is based on and accurately reflects information compiled by Tom Reddicliffe, a full-time employee of the company. Mr Reddicliffe has relevant experience in relation to the mineralization being reported on to qualify as a competent person as defined in the Australasian Code for Reporting of Identified Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves.

[Tackler]

Searchgold recovers three big diamonds from Mandala

2004-04-20 10:15 ET - News Release

Mr. Maurice Giroux reports

SEARCHGOLD RECOVERS A 21.47 CARAT DIAMOND FROM MANDALA

Searchgold Resources has recently recovered three exceptionally large diamonds in the course of the Mandala III North bulk sample of its Mandala River diamond project in Guinea. These three diamonds weigh 21.47 carats, 10.72 carats and 7.26 carats, respectively, and certainly confirm the presence of large diamonds in Mandala's diamondiferous gravels. Historically, Guinea has produced very large diamonds all across the diamond territory and the Aredor alluvial mine, located 40 kilometres north of Mandala and owned by Trivalence Mining Corp., has reported the recovery of many large diamonds over the years, namely a 255.61-carat diamond sold for $10,036,000 (U.S.), and recently, a 70.10-carat diamond sold for $2.76-million (U.S.).

The bulk sampling program of the Mandala and N'keleyani flats is progressing very well and all new equipment sent from Canada, including the screening unit and the John Deere excavator, are on site except for the dual grease tables sorting room that is scheduled to arrive in Conakry by May 5. The company returned all leased machinery and is now fully operating with its own equipment, reducing the cost of the Mandala operation considerably. As previously stated, it is part of Searchgold's objectives to reach financial autonomy of its Guinean subsidiary Ressources Mandala Guinee SARL through the sale of the diamonds recovered in its bulk sampling program on the Mandala permit, and through evaluation of its new adjacent Ouria River permit.

The company is planning a third diamond delivery to Antwerp, Belgium, at the end of April, and according to the interim results, this shipment will be a record one.

The Mandala and N'Keleyani Rivers flats were systematically sampled by Placer Analysis Ltd., and an indicated resource of 615,000 carats of diamonds was measured within the Mandala River exploitation permit area owned at 80.75 per cent by Searchgold Resources through its 95-per-cent-owned Guinean subsidiary, Ressources Mandala Guinee SARL.

[Tackler]

African Metals releases early progress results

2004-04-12 19:38 ET - News Release

Mr. Willis Osborne reports

PRELIMINARY RESULTS OF EXPLORATION PROGRAM ON KENIEBA NORD AND KENIEBA SUD DIAMOND CONCESSIONS; POSSIBLE NEW KIMBERLITE IN BATAMA NORD-OUEST AREA

African Metals has released preliminary results of the exploration program on the two diamond concessions, Kenieba Nord and Keniba Sud, which cover 15 known kimberlites and where seven diamonds between 34 and 232 carats have previously been found. Eight areas were chosen for work within the concessions based on a study of prior aeromagnetic and heavy mineral sampling data. The program was run jointly by Carl G. Verley, PGeo, an independent qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, and Mamadou Keita, MSc, Geo, who is a director of the company.

Fanson area

Followup of aeromagnetic anomalies. Completed ground magnetic survey and heavy mineral sampling. Diamond indicator minerals found over Fanson kimberlite. Grid needs to be extended north to cover other aeromagnetic anomalies.

Batama Nord-Ouest

Followup of aeromagnetic anomaly. Ground magnetic survey and heavy mineral sampling completed. A magnetic anomaly coincident with diamond indicator minerals is strong evidence for the existence of a kimberlite. Test pits will be dug in May and June.

Batama Nord-Est

Followup of a heavy mineral anomaly. Completed a ground magnetic survey. A narrow magnetic anomaly identified. Need to complete a heavy mineral survey.

Sansanto area

Followup of aeromagnetic highs close to site of discovery of some of the large diamonds. A ground magnetic survey and heavy mineral sampling were carried out over only two lines. Further magnetic and heavy mineral work required to completely define anomalous area.

Kenieba Sud-Ouest

A 0.45-carat diamond was recently discovered in this area. A ground magnetometer was run over test lines, and heavy mineral sampling was completed here. No obvious magnetic anomalies and no heavy mineral anomalies were found. A very basic dike was located and will be identified.

Disse River (A)

Followup of an aeromagnetic high. A ground magnetic survey and a partial heavy mineral survey were completed. Several magnetic targets were identified along a structure. Heavy mineral sampling will be completed.

Disse River (B)

Followup of an aeromagnetic high. A heavy mineral survey partly completed. No positive results, but the rest of the sampling and ground magnetic survey must be completed.

Disse River (C)

Followup of an aeromagnetic survey. Heavy mineral sampling completed. Some but not many diamond indicator minerals. Need to complete a ground magnetic survey.

Two previously known kimberlites, Cirque Nord and Sounkourou, were pitted and sampled. Two pits were dug into Cirque Nord and one into Sounkourou. Diamonds of 0.08, 0.44, 0.80 and 6.01 were previously found in Cirque Nord kimberlite. Indicator minerals from the kimberlites, and those from some of the areas above, will be sent to Lakefield Research Limited for analysis in order to determine the diamond potential in these pipes and areas.

Acquisition and continuing review of the extensive database that exists for both diamond concessions indicates that there are a number of high-priority targets on the concessions that warrant further work. In addition, testing of the known kimberlites to firmly establish their diamond potential will also be undertaken.

African Metals was granted a 90-day autorisation d'exploration on the Kenieba Sud and Kenieba Nord concessions covering 3,415 square kilometres. The company has completed a work program on both concessions and submitted reports on the work as a requirement for receiving the convention d'etablissment and arrete de la miniere permits. The two concessions represent a tremendous opportunity for the company. The program described above is just a very small part of the work that remains to be done in the search for a minable diamond deposit.

[Tackler]

China Diamond Corp news... #msg-2556273

[Tackler]

AFR African Metals Corp. http://www.africanmetals.com

[Rocketred]

DSP News Release found 1.5mm diamond sampling GOING UP :)
Diamondex Resources Ltd (C-DSP) - News Release
Diamondex allocates $1-million more for Lena West
Diamondex Resources Ltd DSP
Shares issued 49,455,152 Mar 2 2004 close $ 1.20
Wednesday March 3 2004 News Release
Mr. Randy Turner reports
DIAMONDEX RESOURCES LTD.: LENA WEST, BEAR HEAD, KINGFISH AND GAYOT PROJECT UPDATES
Diamondex Resources has provided an update on the Lena West, Bear Head and Kingfish projects in the Northwest Territories, the Gayety project in Northern Quebec, as well as recent land acquisitions in Nunavut (see www.diamondex.net for property locations). Exploration programs and budgets are currently being finalized and will be announced shortly for the Carat, Kelsey and Hilltop projects, which are all located in the Northwest Territories.
Lena West project, Northwest Territories
A detailed high resolution, horizontal gradient airborne magnetic survey is expected to commence over the southern portion of the Lena West project during the second week of March. This survey, conducted by Fugro Airborne Surveys, will total approximately 33,000 line kilometres and will be flown at 300-metre line spacings. This survey is in addition to 63,800 line kilometres of airborne geophysics conducted over the northern two-thirds of the project area in 2003. A review of these airborne data has indicated several large, prospective targets which will be followed up by ground geophysics and an auger drill sampling program commencing during the second quarter.
In addition to the airborne survey, all stream samples collected during the 2003 exploration program have now been processed and analyzed for kimberlite indicator minerals (KIMs). A fourth diamond measuring 1.5 millimetres in the longest dimension was recently recovered. This is the largest diamond recovered to date from the Lena West project -- three other diamonds measuring 0.8 millimetre, 0.6 millimetre and 0.5 millimetre in their longest dimensions have previously been reported from stream sediment samples. Highlights reported from the examination of KIM grains recovered from the stream sediment sampling program include pyrope garnets up to three millimetres in size, the preservation of kelyphitic rims, as well as the presence of a population of both pyrope and ilmenite grains with little or no mechanical wear. Chemical analysis and morphological studies of the kimberlite indicator minerals are currently being conducted at the Diamond Research Institute in Novosibirsk, Siberia, under the supervision of Dr. Nikolai P. Pokhilenko. Results and analysis for these studies are expected shortly.
A $2.5-million budget exploration program and budget was previously announced (see news in Stockwatch on Jan. 26, 2004) for 2004 to evaluate and test several targets which have been outlined by geophysics and stream sediment sampling within the permit areas. An additional $1-million has now been allocated for further detailed exploration on the Lena West project following the receipt of all data from the 2003 exploration program.
The Lena West property, comprised of 139 prospecting permits totalling 6.15 million acres, is centred approximately 310 kilometres north of Norman Wells and 200 kilometres southeast of Inuvik, Northwest Territories. The Lena West property is 100 per cent owned by Diamondex.
Bear Head property, Northwest Territories
A $725,000 budget has been approved to further evaluate the Bear Head project. The 2004 exploration program, consisting of ground geophysics, till sampling and diamond drilling, is expected to commence during the first half of March and is designed to further evaluate eight geophysical/geochemical targets delineated from the 2003 exploration program. Till sampling has revealed the presence of anomalous concentrations of high chromium pyrope garnets, ilmenites and chromites. Exploration conducted over the Bear Head property to date includes 8,630 line kilometres of airborne magnetic/electromagnetic (mag/EM) (Fugro/Dighem), detailed ground geophysics (including mag/EM and gravity) over 16 high priority targets, 1,110 till samples and 1,479 metres of diamond drilling. A total of $2.3-million has been expended on the Bear Head property to date.
The Bear Head property is located 220 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife, NWT. This property adjoins the southern boundary of the Camsell Lake claim block, which hosts the Snap Lake diamond deposit. This property totals 252,766 acres in size and is 100 per cent owned by Diamondex.
Kingfish property, Northwest Territories
During 2003, Diamondex completed its initial evaluation of the Kingfish property with an exploration program that included the collection of 291 till samples and 6,012 line kilometres of airborne mag/EM (Fugro/Dighem). For 2004, a budget of $550,000 has been approved for follow-up exploration. In early April, 10 priority airborne anomalies will be assessed with detailed ground geophysics (mag/EM/gravity). A till sampling program of approximately 400 samples will commence during the third quarter and 1,000 metres of drilling has been allocated to evaluate high priority targets. Total expenditures to date on the Kingfish property are $650,000, which includes the recent acquisition of 30,000 acres immediately south of the Kingfish property.
The Kingfish property is located approximately 260 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife, NWT. This property consists of 70 mineral claims totalling 167,660 acres and is situated immediately east of the Camsell Lake property, which hosts the Snap Lake diamond deposit. The Kingfish property is 100 per cent owned by Diamondex.
Gayety project, Quebec
Drilling has commenced on the Gayety property, which is a 50:50 joint venture between Diamondex and Majescor Resources Inc. Interpretation of the recently completed airborne mag/EM survey has outlined a number of targets, several of which coincide with anomalous concentrations of kimberlite indicator mineral counts in till samples (see news in Stockwatch on Oct. 28, 2003). Thirteen of these targets have been selected for ground followup and four to five of these targets will be drill tested under this current program.
The Lac Gayety area is located approximately 85 kilometres northwest of the Caniapiscau reservoir in Northern Quebec. This property consists of 1,382 map-designated cells encompassing 162,000 acres. The Gayety project is a 50:50 joint venture with Majescor Resources Inc.
Land acquisitions, Nunavut
Two prospecting permits totalling approximately 75,000 acres, located in the Boothia Peninsula area, Nunavut (approximately 175 kilometres northwest of Repulse Bay) were recently granted to the company. In addition, Diamondex has recently staked 30,000 acres of mineral claims in the Melville Peninsula area. These permits and claims were acquired to cover major geological structures within areas where anomalous concentrations of kimberlite indicator minerals have recently been reported.
Diamondex holds a large and prospective portfolio of diamond exploration properties located in the southern Slave province and the lower Mackenzie River area of the Northwest Territories, the Coronation Gulf district of Nunavut and Northern Quebec. The company holds up to a 100-per-cent interest in 7.8 million acres consisting of 16 diamond properties.
David Clarke, PGeol, MSc, vice-president of exploration for Diamondex Resources, is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and is responsible for program design and quality control of exploration undertaken by Diamondex Resources.

(c) Copyright 2004 Canjex Publishing Ltd. http://www.stockwatch.com

old url (better for printing)

[Tackler]

RSG SearchGold recovers over 8,000 diamonds from Mandala

2004-03-03 09:31 ET - News Release

Mr. Maurice Giroux reports

SEARCHGOLD RECOVERS TOP VALUE DIAMONDS OF UP TO 5.61 CARATS FROM MANDALA

SearchGold Resources, as of Feb. 17, 2004, has recovered and exported over 8,000 diamonds, totalling 1,795.16 carats of gem and near-gem quality, to Antwerp. Those diamonds come from partial sampling of the Mandala III alluvial diamond deposit of the Mandala project in Guinea, West Africa.

Out of this total, 63 diamonds of top gem quality, weighing more then 1.0 carat were recovered, totalling 105.82 carats. Those diamonds were valued at $622.26 (U.S.) per carat by experts at Natural Diamond Corporation (Nadco) in Antwerp, Belgium. Nine diamonds, including a 5.61-carat and a 4.96-carat valued as high as $1,700.00 (U.S.) per carat, were selected for cutting and polishing at Nadco's diamond factory for an added value to SearchGold. An additional mixed parcel of white diamonds weighing 499.22 carats was valued at $55.40 (U.S.) per carat.

Jacky Lewy of Natural Diamond Corporation, stated, "I am very pleased with the quality and size of the diamonds currently recovered from Mandala and this shipment has fortified my belief that some very expensive diamonds will eventually come out from future Mandala production."

To view the diamonds, go to www.searchgold.ca/mandala-an.htm.

The current operation reached an average recovery rate of 50.0 carats of diamonds per day, and some additional equipment shipped and partially delivered on site should allow an increase in the diamond recovery rate to 100 carats per day (2,600 carats per month) in the short term.

Furthermore, the fully automated sorting room with dual grease tables was constructed and is currently being prepared for shipment to the mine site in Guinea. The new screening station has been delivered and is operational. This equipment will further contribute to increase the gravel processing and diamond output of Mandala.

As previously announced in Stockwatch, the mining of basal gravel allowed the identification of two new Kimberlite dikes, which could be the partial source of the alluvial diamonds of the Mandala III deposit. Those dikes are subvertical and both show a N850 E trend, as all other Kimberlite dikes observed in the area. The company proceeded to collect and stockpile a 200-tonne sample of kimberlitic material, which will be further analyzed for its diamond content.

The Mandala Alluvial diamond project was originally sampled by Placer Analysis Ltd., and has an indicated diamond resource of 615,000 carats. SearchGold owns 80.75 per cent of the Mandala project through its 95-per-cent Guinean subsidiary, Ressources Mandala Guinee SARL.

The Prospector's and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) annual conference, to be held at the Toronto Metro Convention Centre March 7 to March 10, 2004, will provide an opportunity for current and potential shareholders to visit the company's booth in the trade show area No. 0116 and meet with members of SearchGold's management team.

[Tackler]

CDC #msg-2501273

[Tackler]

Archangel Diamond Corporation is an international diamond exploration company that currently owns a 40% interest in Almazny Bereg ("AB"), a Russian international open joint stock company, which conducts exploration on the Verkhotina license area in the Oblast of Arkhangel'sk in northwestern Russia. De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd. recently stated in a technical assessment study based on all exploration work completed through November 3, 1999, that the Grib Pipe, located within the Verkhotina license area, has an estimated resource of approximately 98 million tonnes of kimberlite to a depth of 500 meters, containing some 67 million carats of recoverable +1 mm diamonds at an average mining grade of 69 carats per hundred tonnes and an average life-of-mine revenue value of US$79 per carat. For the past three years, Archangel has persistently sought political and legal assistance in an effort to cause its Russian joint venture partner to transfer the Verkhotina Diamond License, pursuant to underlying contracts, to Almazny Bereg.

[Ed Monton]

Diamonds North finds potential kimberlite district

2004-02-16 15:21 ET - News Release

Mr. Mark Kolebaba reports

DIAMONDS NORTH DISCOVERS NEW POTENTIAL DIAMOND DISTRICT IN NUNAVUT

Diamonds North Resources has a potential new kimberlite district discovery through its regional exploration programs. On receipt of very positive indicator mineral results, the company staked a large block of claims last fall covering over 418,000 acres near Kugaaruk, Nunavut, formerly known as Pelly Bay. The company owns these claims 100 per cent.

The company recently acquired an interest in an additional 3.3 million acres of land. The 3.3 million acres surrounds the 100 per cent Diamonds North claim block and was acquired jointly with BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc., through permitting and staking to cover several kimberlite indicator mineral anomalies. This large land position places Diamonds North in the centre of this developing diamond play where more than 13 million acres have been acquired. Other landholders in the area include De Beers Canada Exploration Inc., BHP Billiton Diamond Inc., Kennecott Canada Exploration Inc. and other diamond exploration companies. A map of the area is available on Diamonds North's Web site: http://www.diamondsnorthresources.com/s/Property_Portfolio.asp.

Diamonds North 100 per cent claims

Diamonds North's 100-per-cent-owned central 418,365-acre claim block consists of 162 contiguous claims, located 45 kilometres south of Kugaaruk and 320 kilometres west of Stornoway's Aviat kimberlite discovery. The property was staked by Diamonds North to secure several anomalous kimberlite indicator mineral occurrences discovered by regional sampling.

Multiple samples collected from the property contain abundant kimberlite indicator minerals. One sample in particular contains more than 1,350 kimberlite indicator mineral grains including peridotitic and eclogitic garnet, chromite, chrome diopside and ilmenite.

"These are tremendously high counts for regional samples. This indicates to us that we are close to a kimberlite source," stated Mark Kolebaba, president of Diamonds North.

Based on the sample distribution and indicator minerals recovered, the company anticipates the potential for two to four kimberlite clusters on the property.

Planning for an aggressive exploration program is under way. An airborne geophysical survey is planned to begin in March to identify possible drill targets over high priority areas of the claim block. A detailed sampling and prospecting program will be undertaken between July and August.

Diamonds North -- BHP Billiton Diamonds Inc. joint venture

Diamonds North Resources and BHP Billiton Diamonds have entered into an agreement on lands surrounding the 100-per-cent-owned Diamonds North claims. The agreement covers 34 exploration permits totalling 2,142,745 acres and approximately 464 recently staked claims, totalling 1,198,280 acres. Although the total number of granted claims is not yet known, the total estimated land position under the joint venture is approximately 3,341,000 acres.

Under the terms of the agreement, Diamonds North Resources and BHP Billiton Diamonds will each hold an initial 50-per-cent interest in the lands and each of the parties will contribute 50 per cent of the staking and exploration costs. BHP Billiton may elect to earn an additional 5-per-cent, 10-per-cent or 15-per-cent equity position in the property by sole financing the first 200-tonne, 1,000-tonne and 3,000-tonne bulk samples, respectively.

Mr. Kolebaba stated, "BHP Billiton is a great partner for this project; they are successful explorers and we feel they have a strong commitment to grow their Canadian diamond business."

The land within the joint venture area is highly prospective for diamonds. Several kimberlite indicator mineral anomalies have been discovered by regional till sampling programs conducted independently by Diamonds North and BHP Billiton. These indicator mineral occurrences will be followed up jointly during the 2004 field season with BHP Billiton as the project operator.

G. Gill, PGeo, and B. Kienlen, PGeol, BSc, are qualified persons as defined by National Instrument 43-101 for Diamonds North Resources.

[Ed Monton]

Navigator expands its Nunavut gem hunt

2004-02-12 13:59 ET - Street Wire

by Will Purcell

Gren Thomas's Navigator Exploration picked up some new diamond ground to go with the company's existing grassroots play on Melville Peninsula in Nunavut. The company has not yet come up with much in the way of promotable news from its three property blocks in the region, but two rival plays in the district have produced a series of toutable diamond counts, and with larger tests in the works, the Melville region is expected to be one of the top Canadian diamond plays this year. That should give Navigator and its merger partner, Strongbow Resources, a bit of a boost, but they will soon have to produce some kimberlites of their own.

Navigator's new property lies on Wales Island, in Committee Bay, just west of Melville Peninsula. That places the Wales property about 170 kilometres southwest of the significantly diamondiferous AV-1 kimberlite, which triggered the surge of interest in the region a year ago.

The new Navigator property is about 150 kilometres north-northwest of Repulse Bay and within 40 kilometres of the Qilalugaq property that is being worked by BHP Billiton. The diamond major has been working for a few years on the Qilalugaq block, which extends from the southern shore of Committee Bay to Repulse Bay, and it came up with nine kimberlite discoveries last year.

Information about the finds is limited, but the bodies are believed to be diamondiferous, and some of them produced elevated diamond counts. BHP collected a 9.1-tonne mini-bulk test from one of its Qilalugaq pipes, and the material produced 70 stones larger than a 0.85-millimetre cutoff, with a total weight of 2.36 carats.

That indicated a sample grade of about 0.26 carat per tonne, which apparently is enough to prompt BHP to try a larger test. As well, the company plans to mini-bulk test a few of its other finds, and a new drill program this year should have a good shot at producing a new crop of kimberlites.

BHP also has an interest in Navigator's 115,000-hectare Wales property, which will also be shared with Stornoway Diamond Corporation. All three partners will own a one-third share in the project. BHP and Stornoway are also participants in the three permit blocks on Melville Peninsula in which that Navigator can earn a 30-per-cent stake. Stornoway is the majority owner of the Aviat project, the main Melville play, and BHP is a minority partner on Aviat.

The Fury permits are the most northerly of the three blocks, lying at the northeastern tip of Melville, and across a narrow strait on the southwestern coast of Baffin Island. The western part of the 240,000-hectare Fury block is about 50 kilometres to the northeast of the AV-1 kimberlite.

The 140,000-hectare Sarcpa block lies about 60 kilometres to the south of AV-1, and it is immediately to the east of a property on which Strongbow Resources has a 60-per-cent option deal with the Aviat partners. The merger of Strongbow with Navigator will give the new company a stake in a large chunk of ground immediately to the south of Stornoway and BHP's main Aviat property.

The 44,000-hectare Gem permits are the third Navigator block. They are another 50 kilometres farther south, on the south-central part of Melville. That places Gem roughly equidistant between the AV-1 discovery and the BHP finds on Qilalugaq, about 150 kilometres to the north and southwest respectively.

The diamond potential of the Melville area appears considerable, but its full extent is still an unknown quantity. In the meantime, the AV-1 find continues to be the main hope among the current crop of kimberlites. Stornoway has processed 1,667 kilograms of material from the pipe, coming up with more than 2,300 diamonds that have a coarse size distribution curve.

The paucity of data from the find on Qilalugaq makes any comparison with AV-1 a tough task, but the Stornoway kimberlite would appear to have a greater diamond content than the BHP discovery. There were 69 diamonds larger than a 0.85-millimetre mesh in the 1.67-tonne AV-1 sample, and it took more than five times that amount of rock to produce a greater haul of such stones from the Qilalugaq kimberlite.

The total weight of the AV-1 parcel is not known, but there were some larger diamonds in the mix that could be expected to yield a better sample grade than what BHP came up with to the south. Two of the AV-1 diamonds were retained by a 2.36-millimetre screen, and two others were large enough to remain on a 1.7-millimetre mesh. In all, 28 diamonds had clung to a 1.18-millimetre sieve, and the quantity and size distribution of the AV-1 diamonds provide hope that the body will have a grade of 0.5 carat per tonne, or more.

As well, Stornoway had come up with a new find in the central part of the Aviat property, along with a train of kimberlitic boulders, and both finds have proved to be diamondiferous. The sizes of the rock samples from both sites are much smaller than what has been processed from AV-1, but they appear to be significantly diamondiferous, based on the limited work so far.

That adds to the toutability of Navigator's pieces of the Melville play. There have been about a dozen kimberlite finds in the region, and all of them appear at least marginally diamondiferous, with several of the bodies containing enough diamonds to warrant a mini-bulk test.

Barring a dramatic change of fortune, the Melville region will likely be the most promotable play on the Churchill craton this year, unless Shear Minerals has much better luck at finding diamonds this year on its large property near Rankin Inlet.

Meanwhile, plans to merge Strongbow and Navigator continue. Gren Thomas has been active with both companies since the late 1990s, when the gold explorer turned diamond hunter relinquished most of his roles with his Aber Diamond Corporation, which grew into Canada's most successful public diamond company.

The merged company will be called Strongbow Exploration, and Navigator's shareholders will receive about 37 per cent of the shares of the new entity. That would seem a good deal for Strongbow's existing shareholders, as Navigator currently owns about 25 per cent of Strongbow's shares, and those shares will be cancelled as part of the merger deal.

William Wolfe took over Strongbow early last year, replacing Mr. Thomas as president. Mr. Thomas had served two years as head of the company, starting in 2001, several months after the company transformed itself from Nickelodeon Minerals, under the direction of Ray Cahill.

A bit before that, Mr. Cahill was replaced as president of Navigator by Mr. Thomas's daughter, Eira Thomas. She led Navigator into the Canadian diamond hunt, but she stepped aside last summer, and her father moved into the president's office in her place.

Just who will run the merged company is not clear. The two companies will jointly select what will be an eight-member board and will presumably select its officers from that list as well. Navigator currently has six directors and Strongbow three, but Mr. Thomas still serves on both boards. That would leave eight independent directors on the two boards, but that number could be just coincidence.

Dr. Wolfe got his geological start about 40 years ago with the Geological Survey of Canada and New Brunswick's mines department, but he has been wandering westward since then, starting with a stint with the Ontario government, followed by a long stretch with Cominco, where he was involved in the exploration of several gold and metal deposits in Northern British Columbia and Yukon, as well as Mexico.

Dr. Wolfe has had little exposure to diamonds, but the merged company will have several diamond hunters to choose from. In addition to Mr. Thomas, who founded Aber in the 1980s and led it into the Lac de Gras play in the early 1990s, Ms. Thomas has been seeking gems since she went to work for her father's company after her graduation from university in the early 1990s. Just a few years later, Ms. Thomas was running Aber's exploration efforts, when the company began turning up the rich Diavik pipes.

Bob Gannicott is now running things at Aber, and he has been a director of Navigator since 1997. Mr. Gannicott grew up in England and immigrated to Canada in the 1960s just after high school. He took up mining in Yellowknife for a time and subsequently obtained a geology degree in Ottawa.

That introduction to Canada's North was comparable with Mr. Thomas's experience. Mr. Thomas had a degree when he left Wales in the 1960s, and after a stint with Falconbridge in Sudbury, he went north to work at the Giant mine in Yellowknife. Mr. Thomas spent 10 years working as a prospector and contractor in the North, and the region was always a priority when Mr. Thomas took up running and promoting his own companies.

Navigator's board also includes an old politician, Brian Peckford, who was appointed to navigator's board in 1997, along with Mr. Gannicott. Mr. Peckford is a former high school teacher who went on to become the premier of Newfoundland, as well as a former geologist who took up a law career in the 1960s. Keith Christofferson set up shop as a corporate and mining lawyer in Vancouver, and he was a 2002 addition to Navigator's board.

Navigator added John Proust as a director late last year. Mr. Proust has been advising companies on financial matters, as well as mergers and acquisitions, and he has a bit of a connection to Mr. Thomas. Mr. Proust was a major shareholder and president of Canada Talc, which was sold to Highwood Resources in 1999. Mr. Thomas was a founder of Highwood and served as a director until 1996.

Strongbow's third director is geologist and stock promoter Ron Netolitzky. Mr. Netolitzky has been active with many junior gold and metal explorers, but he has popped up on a number of diamond promotions as well.

Navigator and Strongbow could use an effective promotion in the coming months. Navigator lost three cents Wednesday, closing at 38 cents, while Strongbow was unchanged at 51 cents.

[deejay]

Dan ... congratulations to you and best wishes. Good luck to all! Regards, dj

[Nick Lessel]

Thanks DrD! I have talked to several people and they told me the same,... if I have my shares through someone like Scottrade then I should be OK, meaning there is nothing that I need to do at this point. Thanks for the explanation though...since I was not given an explanation as to why exactly a company would make that move.

Nick L

[Tackler]

Searchgold recovers more than 5,000 diamonds at Mandala

Searchgold Resources Inc RSG
Shares issued 32,818,825 Feb 3 close $0.305
Wed 4 Feb 2004 News Release
Mr. Maurice Giroux reports
SEARCHGOLD RECOVERS TO DATE, OVER 5,000 DIAMONDS FROM MANDALA III
CONTINUING BULK SAMPLE
Searchgold Resources has provided partial results of the bulk sample
program in progress on the Mandala III deposit of its Mandala alluvial
diamond project in Guinea, West Africa. As of Jan. 28, 2004, more than
5,000 diamonds were recovered totalling 1,127 carats in weight.
To view the diamonds go to http://www.searchgold.ca/mandala-an.htm.
The present phase of work will progress normally until Feb. 18, 2004, and
the diamond parcel will be forwarded to Antwerp, Belgium, for further
evaluation and pricing by Natural Diamond Corp., Searchgold's consultant
and marketing agent. A detailed press release on the diamonds technical
evaluation will be issued in March, 2004.
In the course of the alluvial mining activities, two new kimberlite dikes
were discovered across the Mandala III trenched area. Those dikes are
subvertical and both show a N850 E trend as all other kimberlite dikes
observed in the area. The company proceeded to collect and stockpile a
200-ton sample of kimberlitic material which will be further analyzed under
the supervision of a qualified geologist. According to Placer Analysis
Ltd., in its 1989 reports, (Mandala-N'keleyani, valuation des alluvions,
1989), three kimberlite dikes zones are known in the Mandala-N'keleyani
area and one of them returned grades of 7.2 carats of diamonds per cubic
metre.
As per schedule, the new screening station has been delivered lately to the
mine site as well as an additional dump truck purchased in Belgium. An
excavator purchased in Canada is on its way and a complete sorting room
with two grease tables is in construction in Montreal. This equipment
acquisition phase will complete the requisite to reach a production of 500
tons per day and reduce considerably the operation cost.

[DrD]

Nick-L: I've seen this same procedure used by co's that suspect a high degree of naked shorting of their stock. By calling in all certificates the co can account for all outstanding shares and force naked shorts to fess up, (naked shorting is when a market-maker shorts a stock without delivering the shares.) Those holding a naked short position are forced to buy shares to cover their books.

If you have your shares in the brokers name, (not in your desk drawer) then you usually do not need to do anything in this situation. If you want to be sure, you should call your broker first.

[Tackler]

Diadem adds a new diamond play

2004-01-21 11:53 ET

by Will Purcell

Paul Carroll's Diadem Resources added a new diamond project to its plans late last year, when the company signed an agreement with Leon La Prairie's Darnley Bay Resources that will allow Diadem to explore Darnley Bay's large project, to the south of Paulatuk in Nunavut. The Paulatuk play was big news a few years ago, when several diamondiferous kimberlites were discovered, but the promotion subsequently ran out of gas when Darnley Bay ran out of cash. Things could change with the arrival of Diadem, as Mr. Carroll has big plans in the region this year.

Diadem's deal with Darnley Bay had its beginnings last summer, when Mr. Carroll's Carnarvon Capital acquired an option on the project. That arrangement required Carnarvon to spend $5-million on exploration over a three-year period, in exchange for a 50-per-cent share in about one million hectares of the property.

It seemed an unusual venture for Carnarvon. Carnarvon does have a resource sector specialty, but it seemed unlikely that Mr. Carroll's Toronto-based consulting and management company was going to take up diamond exploration north of the Arctic Circle.

As a result, it was no real surprise when Carnarvon flipped its interest in the project to Diadem late last year, although there had been some reason to speculate that Mr. Carroll might have used the northern diamond project to revive another struggling shell, a commodity that Mr. Carroll has in ample supply.

The play proved promotable in the past. Darnley Bay had good luck with its drill program in 2000, testing a dozen targets and coming up with 10 kimberlite pipes. Of those, six proved to be diamondiferous, and a few yielded a toutable array of micro-sized stones, although macrodiamonds were generally few and far between. All of those finds were made on Parry Peninsula, just west of Darnley Bay.

The best result was obtained at kimberlite No. 101. Material weighing 80 kilograms yielded 131 diamonds, although just three of the stones were macrodiamonds. The biggest diamond haul came from No. 102, where 132 diamonds were recovered, but it took just over 650 kilograms of kimberlite to top the count from No. 101. Once again, nearly all of the diamonds were tiny, and just two of the stones were classified as macros.

In all, about 1.37 tonnes of kimberlite from the nine tested kimberlites had produced 330 micros and six macrodiamonds. That haul did not provide much promotional help to Mr. La Prairie and Darnley Bay, and a rally that had carried Darnley Bay's shares to a $2.98 crest early in 2000 gradually fizzled.

Nevertheless, there has been enough promise from the region that De Beers was willing to spend some cash on the project a few years ago, and the diamond major played a key role in the kimberlite discoveries. Over $20-million has been spent in the area, although less than half that amount was for diamond exploration.

Mr. Carroll said that the deal with Darnley Bay covered ground on which Mr. La Prairie's company had already spent about $5-million on diamonds, in addition to running a base metals hunt prior to that brought its total to more than $12-million. Because of that outlay, the option deal requires Diadem to bring its spending up to a comparable level for it to become an equal partner in the play.

Nevertheless, it appears that Darnley Bay will still be on the hook for a significant amount of cash if it is to remain an equal partner on the other parts of the proposed project. The existing Darnley Bay project is north of 68 degrees latitude, and includes ground on which the mineral rights are owned by the local aboriginals. Darnley Bay signed an agreement with the Inuvialuit that gave the company the right to explore in the area, although the terms of that deal are believed to be in the process of being renegotiated.

In addition to that northern region, Diadem has plans to take its gem hunt south of the 68th parallel, and Darnley Bay will have to pay its own way on that part of the project. Mr. Carroll said that that more southerly ground would be a totally separate project, but Darnley Bay would be an equal partner on any properties in the new area, as long as it paid its equal share of the expenses.

The retired Toronto corporate lawyer turned Arctic diamond explorer added that a significant part of the planned budget for this year would go to ground outside the initial Darnley Bay deal.

Mr. Carroll said that Diadem had come up with a budget of about $2-million for this year alone, and he added that "a good chunk of it is for south of 68." Mr. Carroll stated that the current plan called for Darnley Bay to contribute about $700,000 of the preliminary budget, and that would imply that close to two-thirds of the work will take place on the new regions to the south. If so, Diadem's share of the 2004 plan would run to about $1.3-million, although Mr. Carroll said that about $300,000 had already been invested on exploration so far.

At this stage, coming up with the cash for a busy exploration season seems a formidable task for both of the partners, although Mr. Carroll has proven effective at drumming up exploration cash in the past. Now in his early 60s, Mr. Carroll has been active as a director of Dundee Bancorp, an investments management company that is active in the resource sector, in addition to his role with Carnarvon Capital.

Mr. Carroll and Diadem recently closed a private placement of nearly eight million units, and at a price of 10 cents each, that brought in nearly $800,000 in new cash. The company will need significantly more than that to achieve its goals on the Paulatuk play this year, and a further $1-million of work is planned for the Otish Mountains play. As a result, it seems likely that new placements will be worked out in the coming months.

Diadem had a working capital deficiency of just over $1-million at the end of August, but the company was subsequently able to improve things significantly by selling another batch of 10-cent shares, as well as the sale of an investment in Waseco Resources, and Mr. Carroll said the company currently had about $700,000 in cash available to it.

In any case, Diadem's financial situation seems favourable when compared with the state of Darnley Bay's treasury. At the end of September, Mr. La Prairie's company had less than $30,000 in current assets, with its accounts payable and accrued liabilities pegged at in excess of $1.3-million. Since then, Darnley Bay has not managed much in the way of coming up with new cash. As a result of Darnley Bay's financial woes, there had not been much activity on the Paulatuk play of late, and the arrival of Mr. Carroll and Diadem could give the project a big boost.

It might seem a long path from a career as a corporate lawyer to becoming a successful diamond miner, but Mr. Carroll had his first real taste of gems several years ago, when Howard Miller asked him to help gain control over Lytton Minerals in 1998. Mr. Miller was a big shareholder of Lytton, now known as Tahera Corporation, and the two were successful at wresting the company away from a group led by Harry Dobson. Tahera's continual need for cash led to Joseph Gutnick snatching the company from Mr. Miller and Mr. Carroll just three years later, but the stint as a Tahera director gave Mr. Carroll some experience with diamond exploration.

Mr. Carroll acknowledged that it was harder to come up with a good diamond play than it was to develop a gold project, but he believes that the returns are far better with diamonds. He received an inkling of just how big a return diamonds could provide during a stint as a director of Repadre Capital, which came close to being a big name in diamonds more than a decade ago.

Mr. Carroll was a director of Corona Corporation when the company was grooming Repadre to become Corona's diamond affiliate during the late 1980s. Repadre tried its hand at coming up with gems in Botswana, but it failed to come up with any kimberlites, much less diamonds.

The company had also given its vice-president of exploration, Chris Jennings, enough cash to launch a hunt in Canada's North, but when the Botswana play proved to be less than a resounding success, Corona had second thoughts about taking up diamond exploration. The resulting staff cutbacks included Dr. Jennings, who received the claims in the Northwest Territories as part of his settlement, with Repadre retaining a nominal royalty on future revenues.

Dr. Jennings subsequently sold the diamond claims to Aber Resources, which went on to find the four rich pipes that are now part of the Diavik mine. Although Repadre had effectively given away the rights to the future Diavik find, the company will still be receiving a healthy royalty from the operation, about $8-million annually. That near miss may have been Mr. Carroll's first indication of the potential prize awaiting a successful diamond explorer.

Another diamond hunter with a Corona past and a subsequent connection with Aber also played a role in Mr. Carroll's turn to diamonds. Lee Barker worked for Corona for a time and was briefly a director with Aber, but his primary diamond role came with Chris Jennings's SouthernEra Resources through most of the 1990s. Mr. Carroll stayed in contact with Mr. Barker, who played a key role in Diadem's acquiring its Otish and Paulatuk diamond projects.

Diadem's shareholders undoubtedly hope that the Paulatuk play will provide Mr. Carroll and their company with a Diavik-sized return, although even a Repadre-sized royalty would give their company's lowly shares a good boost.

Diadem slipped one-half cent Tuesday, closing at 11 cents, while Darnley Bay dipped a full cent, closing at 14 cents.

[Nick Lessel]

Newbie question....I own some shares in CMKM and yesterday this press release came out:

-----------------------------------------------------------
AS VEGAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 2004--Urban Casavant is pleased to announce that Casavant Mining Kimberlite International (Pink Sheets:CMKM - News) will have a name change and a new CUSIP number to reflect the recent steps taken by the company to move forward.

The Company's name change and new CUSIP shall take effect sometime this week and shall be announced shortly after. The Company also announces a recall on all outstanding stock certificates since it has inaugurated actions to change the name and CUSIP number for its common stock and is notifying the Depository Trust Company as to the effective date of the change. Shareholders will be required to obtain new certificates before being able to trade shares represented by their old certificates by close of the market on March 08, 2004. New stock certificates will only be issued upon the surrender of valid hard copy outstanding stock certificates to 1st Global Transfer LLC. All communications relating to shareholder matters, such as transfer of shares, stock transfer requirements, missing stock certificates and changes of address, should be directed to 1st Global Stock Transfer LLC, at the following address and telephone number:

Attention - Helen Bagley
7341 W. Charleston Blvd.-Suite 130
Las Vegas, Nevada 89117
Telephone Number [phone]
Fax Number [phone]

--------------------------------------------------------

My question is, what actions am I supposed to take at this point? I'm currently with Scottrade, will they take care of the necessary steps, if any, or should I call the number above? Is this something that happens often?

Thanks in advance,

Nick

[Tackler]

Ashton resumes Buffalo hunt

2004-01-29 14:28 ET by Will Purcell

Ashton Mining of Canada plans to poke away at its Buffalo Hills diamond play in Alberta yet again. The project has delivered just enough promise to keep the company coming back for a new look each year, although the market's expectation continues to dwindle in proportion with the steadily shrinking exploration budgets. The program planned by Ashton and its partners is their smallest yet, but hope springs eternal that a diamond mine is lurking in the Buffalo Hills, and if Ashton can come up with some toutable results again this year, the play could experience another of its trademark promotional updrafts.

Ashton and its partners have agreed on a $650,000 program for this year, although agreed might not be the best word to describe the decision by Pure Gold Minerals not to pay its 9.7-per-cent share, choosing instead to have its interest diluted by a token amount. Ashton and EnCana Corporation to split the cost between them and the two main partners will continue to split the remaining 90-per-cent portion of the Buffalo Hills project on an equal basis.

The bulk of the budget will be directed at another round of ground geophysics, designed to check out some new anomalies discovered during an airborne geophysical survey that was flown a few months ago. The most promising targets will then be drilled during the summer.

Ashton has been busy in the area since 1996, and although the exploration expenses and kimberlite finds have been tapering off, there is still a basis for optimism. The recent airborne program covered just over 10,000 line-kilometres, which nearly matched the combined programs of the past six years, and the new survey will continue the focus upon electromagnetic anomalies, which have given the play a new lease on life.

Although the Buffalo Hills budget is a small fraction of what had been spent in the glory days of the play, the chances seem good that Ashton will be able to come up with a new kimberlite or two this year, based on its regional success rate.

So far, Ashton has drilled about 80 targets in Alberta, including 61 in the Buffalo Hills region, and that work has produced 38 kimberlite discoveries, of which 33 were found on the core property. The Buffalo Hills success rate has averaged nearly 55 per cent over the years, but its best record occurred in 1997, when 14 kimberlites were found from drilling 17 targets, a success rate of better than 80 per cent for that first year.

Things quickly tailed off after that. In 1998, Ashton went nine for 14, or a hit rate of about 65 per cent, and the company managed just four finds in 1999, although it drilled another 19 targets, for a kimberlite rate of just 21 per cent. Ashton cut back its program in a big way in 2000, testing just six anomalies and finding three kimberlites.

At that point, the Buffalo Hills play seemed to be winding down, as all of the promising magnetic anomalies had been tested, but the prospects for new kimberlite finds improved dramatically a few years ago, when Ashton fine-tuned its geophysical approach.

Ashton's drilling programs have continued to taper off, but its success rate has improved over the past few years, after the company placed a greater importance on electromagnetic data. A total of five new targets have been drilled over the last three years and the three new kimberlite finds indicate a hit rate of 60 per cent. That tally includes two discoveries last year, from a three-target program.

Ashton's rate of finding kimberlites suggests an uncommon success, and an encouragingly high proportion of the Buffalo Hills kimberlites have been diamondiferous. At one point, there had been hopes that the new geophysical approach would deliver better diamond contents, after the first real electromagnetic target had produced a particularly promotable sample grade, but it now seems likely that there is little if any correlation between geophysics and diamonds.

Nevertheless, there have been several Buffalo Hills kimberlites that have delivered significant diamond grades, and a few of them have reached promotable levels. As a result, there is reason to hope that a new find in the region will finally deliver an economic diamond content.

That seemed to be the case a few years ago, when Ashton discovered its K-252 kimberlite. The company recovered 263 diamonds from 227 kilograms of kimberlite, but the real promise was found in the numbers of larger diamonds in the sample. Ten of the stones were longer than 0.5 millimetre in two dimensions and half of those were longer than one millimetre, with two diamonds measuring in excess of two millimetres in length.

That provided optimism that the body would be among the best of the Buffalo Hills finds, but the subsequent mini-bulk tests were still a bit of a pleasant surprise. A first tiny test produced a grade of about two-thirds of a carat per tonne, and a subsequent, larger sample came close to that mark. In all, Ashton processed about 24 tonnes and recovered 13.4 carats, for a sample grade of about 0.56 carat per tonne.

That is roughly comparable with the company's cumulative sample grades from the Otish Mountains region of Quebec, but Ashton decided against taking a larger test of K-252, as two key factors made the pipe appear uneconomic, for now at least.

Although the anomaly measured about 150 metres in diameter, the drill program indicated an irregular kimberlite that was significantly smaller than hoped. That, combined with the deep layer of overburden covering the kimberlite, made K-252 unlikely to be profitable on its own. Nevertheless, it could figure in a larger mine, should Ashton come up with some new finds.

The company seemed well on its way last year after two quick finds using the new geophysical focus, but the diamond counts did not support any further work on either the K-300 or K-296 discoveries. Ashton recovered just 54 diamonds from about 170 kilograms of K-300 rock, and nearly all of the stones were tiny microdiamonds.

The diamond counts were marginally better with the K-296 samples, but there was little promise provided by the size distribution of the stones. There were 125 diamonds recovered from about 275 kilograms of kimberlite, but only a few were larger than 0.5 millimetre in two dimensions.

The two results were especially disappointing, as both kimberlites appeared much larger than little K-252. The drill programs at the two new finds suggested the bodies were complex and irregular, but they seemed encouragingly large. The anomaly that led to the discovery of the K-300 pipe was about 300 metres in diameter, and the K-296 feature was roughly 400 metres in diameter.

Despite the diamond setback last year, Ashton would seem to have a reasonable shot at coming up with a better result this year. Two-thirds of the Buffalo Hills kimberlites have delivered at least one diamond, and one-sixth of the kimberlite finds had enough diamonds to warrant at least a mini-bulk test and attract some market attention.

K-14 was the most extensively tested of the Buffalo Hills kimberlites, and like K-252, at least a part of it could ultimately find is way into a future mine plan if Ashton manages to justify a mine based upon some new finds. A 45-tonne test of the pipe delivered a grade of 0.17 carat per tonne, based on stones remaining on a 0.85-millimetre sieve, and a subsequent sample weighing 480 tonnes managed a grade of nearly 0.12 carat per tonne, using a 1.2-millimetre screen.

The result from K-91 was nearly as good. Ashton recovered over 4.5 carats from a 36-tonne batch of kimberlite, which indicated a grade of nearly 0.13 carat per tonne, using the 0.85-millimetre mesh. Ashton also tested the K-11 pipe, producing a grade of 0.04 carat per tonne from about 22 tonnes of kimberlite.

Ashton took two cracks at its K-6 kimberlite, taking one small test in 1997, followed by a second batch in 2002, after a new look at the geophysics of the complex body. The net result was a sample grade of about 0.07 carat per tonne from approximately 20 tonnes of material. The company also processed about 7.5 tonnes of kimberlite from K-5, but the result was far from spectacular, with an indicated grade of just 0.004 carat per tonne.

As well, Ashton processed a one-tonne batch of rock from BH-225, recovering enough diamonds to obtain a sample grade of 0.035 carat per tonne. Counting that tiny test, Ashton has so far found seven kimberlites worthy of mini-bulk testing from 61 geophysical drill targets, a statistic with significant promotional value heading into the latest exploration program.

Although Ashton continues to soldier on in the region, it is doing so with a much smaller budget and speculators have largely abandoned hope for the Alberta play as a result. Ashton's spending this year will be just over $300,000 according to the current plan, and that is barely half the $600,000 that the company spent through the first three quarters of 2003.

Ashton spent about $850,000 in 2002 and another $706,000 in 2001, but those expenditures pale in comparison with what the company shelled out during the glory years of the project. Ashton spent $5.2-million in 1997, although the company was paying nearly all of the costs, under the terms of its option deal with EnCana.

The peak period for the play came the following year, when Ashton shelled out $4.2-million for just its share of the expenses. Ashton put close to $3-million into the Alberta play in 1999, and another $1.35-million the following year. In all, the partners have probably spent something close to $30-million on the diamond hunt through the years.

Ashton's shares have traded near the $1.50 mark for much of the past year, although some toutable news from Quebec briefly carried the stock above the $3 mark. Although the Otish hunt is now Ashton's key play, it was the Alberta hunt that was its promotional highlight, with an $8 crest in the spring of 1997.

Ashton moved down two cents on Wednesday, closing at $1.62.

[Tackler]

Reuters - Diamond hunt dice seen loaded in favor of Canada
Thursday January 29, 2:58 pm ET


(Amounts in U.S. dollars unless noted)
VANCOUVER, British Columbia , Jan 29 (Reuters) - The odds of making an economically viable diamond discovery in Canada are well above the average for the rest of the world, an industry executive said on Thursday, painting a promising future for the world's most rapidly emerging diamond economy.

Addressing an exploration conference in Vancouver, Robert Boyd, president and chief executive of Ashton Mining of Canada Inc. (Toronto:ACA.TO - News) said statistics showed that 17 out of the 540 kimberlites, or 3.1 percent, found in Canada up until the end of 2002 were economic to mine.

Kimberlites are the most common host rock of diamonds.

By comparison only 0.7 percent of the 6,395 kimberlites found across the globe are worth mining -- odds of 1 out of 133 for striking it lucky compared to 1 out of 32 inside Canada.

Since its first major discovery of diamonds in 1991 and the subsequent start up of two mines, Canada has sprinted up the world diamond production rankings to now reach third spot, measured by the value of the stones it produces.

Canada is attracting almost half of all the worldwide exploration dollars spent on searching for diamonds, or about $125 million a year. "This is another strong indicator that the diamond business sees Canada as its future," Boyd said.

The discovery of Ekati and Diavik, Canada's two producing mines, in the Northwest Territories set off an exploration frenzy in the now-famous Lac de Gras region.

But Boyd said the sparkling gems are increasingly starting to turn up in other parts of the country, including Saskatechewan, Alberta, Nunavut and Quebec. At least 40 kimberlites were discovered across Canada last year.

"It is no longer a Northwest Territories phenomenon...It takes in most of Canada," he said

[Tackler]

Geodex finds new faith for an old play

2004-01-28 12:18 by Will Purcell

Jack Maris and Jack Marr's Geodex Minerals has picked up a new diamond project, through an option deal that will allow the company to earn an 80-per-cent stake in three properties in the northeastern corner of Manitoba. The westernmost region of the Superior craton was big news a few years ago with both major and junior explorers, but interest in the Manitoba hunt has since waned considerably, as the initial encouragement did not lead to any kimberlite discoveries. Nevertheless, the indicator mineral promise has been sufficient to keep at least some explorers, including Geodex, looking for what could be a diamondiferous kimberlite cluster.

Geodex's three Manitoba properties cover about 91,000 hectares of ground in the lowlands to the southwest of Hudson Bay, an area that is to the north of the district that produced most of the indicator mineral excitement and staking frenzy of several years ago, when the Manitoba play was at its promotional peak.

There continues to be some interest in that area, as none of the toutable mineral trains have been explained, but much of the new activity in Manitoba has been on ground that is farther up-ice from the Knee Lake and Gods Lake area, in the area east of the Nelson River, to the northeast and southeast of Gillam. In addition to the earlier results, interest in the area containing the Geodex properties has received a new geochemical boost from some recent sampling efforts.

Geodex can earn an 80-per-cent stake in the three properties by making payments over the next three years, totalling $75,000 in cash and 300,000 shares. As well, the private vendor will receive an additional 100,000 shares for each kimberlite find, up to a maximum of three.

The payments hardly seem a burden for the junior explorer, and the modest requirement is the result of the lack of promotable news from the Manitoba diamond play. The area around Knee Lake and Gods Lake became prime diamond country in the late 1990s, when the Manitoba government revealed the results of its surface sampling programs, triggering the initial flurry of diamond interest in what had previously been gold and base metal ground.

The sampling revealed elevated kimberlite indicator minerals across a fairly wide area. There appeared to be multiple areas of interest and the minerals contained enough promise that the play attracted many willing explorers. The group included the usual array of juniors and private prospectors, along with all three of the diamond majors currently active in Canada. De Beers, Kennecott and BHP Billiton all picked up significant chunks of ground in the region and quietly worked away on their projects for a few years.

The rivals were not cheap with their exploration dollars. Since 1997, BHP has spent about $5-million on the region, most of it on surface sampling programs over a large area, and that led the company to start acquiring ground. The other two diamond majors were quick to follow suit, and by 2001, interest in the Manitoba play had reached its peak.

Little is known about the results of De Beers's program, but its two big rivals seemed to lose at least some of their interest in working their projects. In 1999, Kennecott partnered up with Patrick Power's Montello Resources and a few years later at the height of the brief area promotion, BHP optioned its Moose project to Larry Kryska's New Blue Ribbon Resources.

That interest was short lived however, as the promising mineral counts failed to produce a single kimberlite find. Montello and New Blue moved on, and although BHP subsequently found a new partner for its Moose project, Art Ettlinger's Dunsmuir Ventures did not have any more luck with the property than its predecessors, as an eight-hole drill program drew a kimberlite blank, and the project is now on hold.

There had been at least a few other drill programs in the region, but none of the holes managed to hit kimberlite, much less diamonds, and there has been little news from what had been the core region of the Manitoba diamond play over the past year.

Investors were quick to lose interest, but the Manitoba government kept up its sampling efforts, and that work yielded some promising indicator minerals farther to the north, in the area along the Hayes, Gods and Kaskattama rivers, and there was enough promise in the samples to attract a new crop of junior explorers.

In addition to Geodex, Foran Mining has been adding ground to its play in the area east of Gillam, in the Kaskattama River region. Foran's initial Manitoba hope had centred on some magnetic anomalies, although the promotion played heavily on the suite of indicator minerals found well to the south. The more recent sampling results bring the mineral encouragement much closer to Foran's project, and the company continues to tout its piece of the play as a result.

Foran also added to its play through a deal with Vista Gold that gave the company access to Vista's geochemical database, covering about 40 million hectares of northeastern Manitoba and Northern Ontario. The data indicated a large area that offered diamond promise, with an array of kimberlite indicators that included G-10 pyrope garnets, always a favourite with speculators. Vista lost interest in diamonds after a change in management, but the old results still offer new hope to explorers in the region, including Geodex.

Geodex has been run by the South Surrey-based Mr. Maris since the mid-1980s, when the company was known as Kamad Silver, two share rollbacks in the past. Mr. Maris, who had previously been active with food and construction businesses, managed to avoid a third, when he successfully revived the struggling Kamad with some metal plays in British Columbia.

One of those projects attracted Esso Minerals as a partner, and Mr. Maris mustered a successful promotion with Kamad until the market turned sour in the late 1980s. By 1993, it was time for a change, and Kamad rolled back its shares on a 1-for-5 basis, becoming Agate Bay Resources.

A former builder and grocer turned stock promoter might seem an unlikely diamond hunter, but Mr. Maris has been involved with the gem hunt since its glory days in the early 1990s. Although his earlier efforts did not produce much exploration success, at least some of the projects did prove to be promotable plays.

Mr. Maris did have some help along the way. The West Vancouver-based Mr. Marr joined Mr. Maris as an Agate Bay director early in 1993, just as the company was going through the change from Kamad, and Randy Turner was also added to the board at that time. As a result, it was no surprise that the company took up diamonds as its primary focus, at least for a time.

Agate Bay acquired properties in central Saskatchewan, near the Fort a la Corne play that was in the midst of one of its promotable phases, as well as ground in the always toutable Northwest Territories. The two plays got Agate Bay off to a rousing start, as its shares surged form 20 cents, to a 95-cent peak by early in 1994.

In the spring of 1994, Agate Bay made its first diamond move into Manitoba, picking up ground in the Dauphin Lake area of the province, several hundred kilometres southwest of Geodex's current Manitoba play. Mr. Marr had received his geology degree in Scotland, but he picked up a master's degree at the University of Manitoba, and that may have helped spark his interest in the project. In any case, it offered little of substance for Mr. Maris and Mr. Marr to sink their promotional teeth into, and the company quickly lost interest in the property.

Mr. Turner was long gone by the spring of 1996 when Agate Bay's shares peaked at $1.55, on the strength of a number of metal plays in Chile that briefly caught the market's eye. Once again, the interest did not last, and Agate Bay was rolled back into Geodex in 1998.

Mr. Maris and Mr. Marr hopped aboard another hot play in 2000, when Geodex tried to revive its slumping shares with a high-tech move. The planned move came late in the cycle, but Geodex's shares still managed an 85-cent crest early that year on little more than speculation. The company did try a reverse takeover of Totalmediabuy.com a few months later, but the bubble had burst by then, and the transaction fell through the rapidly widening market cracks. Since then, Mr. Maris and Mr. Marr have looked to diamonds as the means to revive Geodex.

There are two other directors on Geodex's board, but they are more recent arrivals. John Jardine, a West Vancouver accountant, was added several years ago and the New Brunswick-based Jack Patterson was appointed late last year. Mr. Jardine has been plying his trade as a bean counter with a number of resource sector companies for more than 20 years. He was made chief financial officer of Agate Bay in 1996, and added to the board a year later.

A geologist by trade, Mr. Patterson has worked in the resource sector for more than 40 years, including stints with the Canadian government and as a consultant. As well, he was the managing director of the British Columbia and Yukon chamber of mines for nearly two decades.

Mr. Patterson has relatively little first-hand experience as a promoter however, although he has popped up as a director of at least a few junior companies over the years. One of those companies was Intertech Minerals, which was an active diamond explorer in the Afridi Lake region of the Northwest Territories at the time. Nevertheless, he appears to have been selected to help out with Geodex's two New Brunswick gold projects primarily, not Manitoba gems.

Geodex's shares had been trading for less than 15 cents for most of the past year, but the stock jumped to a 40-cent peak in early December, as the acquisition of the New Brunswick plays and Mr. Patterson's arrival were viewed favourably by the market. As well, Geodex has been arranging a series of private placements to get its gold and gem projects rolling, and the prospect of a sustained promotion has helped keep up interest in the company.

Geodex was unchanged on Tuesday, closing at 32 cents.

[Tackler]

Rock tries again at Temagami

2004-01-27 by Will Purcell

Graeme Rowland's Rock Resources is having some success coming up with new exploration cash and the struggling company is now touting plans to renew work on the three diamond properties that the company optioned from Tres-Or Resources over the past two years. Deals covering two other exploration projects seemed to fall apart on Rock last year, after the explorer was unable to make some required property payments, but Mr. Rowland's company still seems to have high hopes for its Temagami diamond play in Northeastern Ontario. It will likely take a diamondiferous discovery in the region south and west of Lake Timiskaming to attract much attention to Rock's play, but there have been signs of hope from nearby diamond projects.

Rock made its first Temagami move in the spring of 2002, just a few months after Mr. Rowland took over as president of the company. The terms of that deal with Tres-Or allowed Rock to earn a two-thirds share of the Temagami North property, in exchange for spending $300,000 on exploration and making payments of stock and cash to Laura Lee Duffett's Tres-Or.

A few months later, Rock picked up an option on the significantly larger Temagami East property. The arrangement would allow Rock to earn a two-thirds stake in the property, but the exploration requirement was considerably greater than the first agreement, requiring little Rock to spend in excess of $6-million over several years.

Last year, Rock added Tres-Or's Cobalt South property to the Temagami North deal, which was also revised to some extent. Renegotiations or not, Rock apparently was unable to meet all of the requirements of the agreements at last report, but Tres-Or has been a patient partner while Rock works to get its affairs in order.

A significant exploration program has not been possible due to the sad state of Rock's treasury. Early in 2002, the company had a working capital deficiency of nearly $200,000, and that figure grew to about $250,000 a year later. Rock's working capital situation worsened through the first quarter of its latest fiscal year, and the deficiency swelled to nearly $350,000 by the end of August.

The company managed to bring in about $3-million through private placements and issuing shares for debts during the 18-month stretch that began when Mr. Rowland took over.

Coming up with the new money and Rock's slumping share price have caused the company's shares to balloon over that stretch. Rock had just over 2.8 million shares outstanding early in 2002, not long after the company had rolled back its shares on a 1-for-20 basis, but the tally swelled to more than 18 million by last summer.

As a result, Rock is once again planning to turn back the odometer on its struggling stock, this time at a 1-for-10 rate. That would make Rock's eight-cent shares worth a more toutable 80 cents, but it will also send the stock's 81-cent high that was set early in 2000 to a lofty $162 per share, after what would be a cumulative 1-for-200 consolidation.

The latest rollback would again reduce recent Rock's share count to less than two million, but the total is already begun to swell, as the company works to improve its financial situation. Rock will issue 800,000 of its postconsolidated shares through an over-subscribed private placement that will bring in $300,000, and it is issuing nearly 1.2 million more to settle about $437,000 in outstanding debts. Those two transactions will effectively double Rock's share count.

It will be worth it if Rock manages to come up with a diamondiferous find on its diamond plays to the south and west of Lake Timiskaming. The Temagami North properties are perhaps the most promotable of the three projects in the shorter term. The claims are scattered along an area west of the lake in close proximity to the cluster of kimberlite finds that dot the area west of New Liskeard and Haileybury.

The region was big news with speculators in the early 1990s and the district is once again drumming up a bit of attention, after Sudbury Contact Mines revived one of its old projects. The company discovered the 95-2 kimberlite in 1995 and although the diamond counts were low, there were signs of a potentially coarse stone size distribution curve.

Sudbury Contact lost interest nevertheless, and the play grew cobwebs for several years. Things abruptly changed in 2002 when the company processed some old core samples and began drilling several new holes. That work continues to suggest a modest grade but a fairly coarse size distribution, and the company is now working on a 500-tonne mini-bulk test of the fairly large pipe.

The cumulative weight of Sudbury Contact's 0.85-millimetre macrodiamonds is just under 0.40 carat, gleaned from just over four tonnes of kimberlite, and that would suggest a grade of just less than 0.10 carat per tonne. That figure could be skewed higher by the recovery of one diamond that weighed 0.14 carat, but a larger sample might also be statistically expected to deliver somewhat higher grades. As a result, the likely outcome of Sudbury Contact's mini-bulk test is largely an unknown quantity, although it seems certain to top the previous mini-bulk results from the region.

Those earlier tests had demonstrated that quite a few of the Timiskaming and Kirkland Lake kimberlites were diamondiferous, but just marginally so at best. The Bucke pipe, also in close proximity to Rock's Temagami North properties, produced a grade of about 0.004 carat form a 25-tonne test in the mid-1990s. That figure matched what had been obtained from the Clifford pipe near Kirkland Lake, where 123 tonnes of kimberlite produced diamonds weighing just over one-half carat.

Nevertheless, there were glimmers of hope in those microscopic grades, as some of the diamonds were large enough to support hopes of a coarse size distribution. That would mean little for Bucke or Clifford, but it offered promise that other finds in the region might have much better grades, and a project could be worthwhile if it was combined with a similar size distribution. As a result, Sudbury Contact's sample could have a boom or bust impact on the area play.

Rock and Tres-Or could stir up some interest of their own in the region by making a kimberlite find. Tres-Or completed some preliminary work on the Temagami North property, including some surface sampling and geophysics, and at least one of the claim blocks appears to contain a kimberlite.

As well, about 30 magnetic targets have been located on the claim blocks, and with the tight cluster of pipes already found in the immediate vicinity, it would be no great surprise if the Temagami North and Cobalt South ground contained a few more. There have also been signs of indicator mineral promise that offer hope that the diamond content of any finds might be closer to that of 95-2, rather than Bucke, or one of the barren pipes. Although there was nothing particularly special about the pyrope garnets found at Temagami North, Tres-Or has touted its eclogitic garnet recoveries as better than those of its rivals.

There have been diamonds recovered from rock in close proximity to the Cobalt South property as well. In 2002, John Versfelt's Cabo Mining came up with 95 diamonds in a 9.5-kilogram batch of lamprophyre rock, and some of them were of a promotable size.

That caught the eye of Kennecott Canada for a time, but subsequent samples failed to match the initial promise, and interest in the Cabo play quickly evaporated. Nevertheless, the result does again dangle the possibility of a much higher diamond contend and a coarse size distribution curve as a promotional hook, as Rock's Cobalt South property is adjacent to the Cabo find.

The Temagami East property, just south of Lake Timiskaming, is at the northeastern end of an area that contains the bulk of Tres-Or's Temagami properties. There have not been any kimberlite finds in the immediate vicinity of the property, but Tres-Or and a host of other explorers continue to have great expectations for their projects, although their promotions have faltered with the lack of drill success to date.

Rock's financial woes have been compounded by a steady turnover on its board and in its executive offices over the past few years. The revolving door began about two years ago, when the Europe-based Mr. Rowland was added to Rock's board. The business consultant quickly became chief financial officer and he replaced Tom Kennedy as president a few months later. Mr. Kennedy lingered as a director for a few more months, but he was asked to resign before the end of 2002.

Late last year, Rock added United Kingdom-based businessman and former stockbroker, Anthony Balme, to its board. A few months earlier, Bruce Hirsche, an Edmonton-based securities lawyer and Richmond engineer, Elston Johnston, were replaced by an accountant, William Jung, and Mr. Versvelt in a board spat that also cost bean counter Allan Rose his position as a director and chief financial officer. Mr. Rose had been appointed to Rock's board in the summer of 2002, replacing Malcolm Bradley, who served a stint of less than five months.

A commercial banker, James Watt, is the fifth member of Rock's board. He was appointed in the summer of 2002, along with Richard Poulden, who did not last long. To make room for the pair, geologists Chris Sampson and John Kowalchuk resigned, and although Rock said that Mr. Kowalchuk would continue to "channel his geological expertise into a plan of property growth" on Rock's advisory board, he promptly channelled his way out the door just six months later.

Rock's shares managed to trade as high as $1.10 in the spring of 2002, but the working capital deficiency and the management turmoil has taken its toll on things since then. A share has cost less than a dime for much of the past year, and occasionally less than a nickel.

Rock's pebble-sized shares dipped 1.5 cents on Monday, closing at 6.5 cents.

[Tackler]

Afri-Can Marine hopes for splash from Namibian deal

2004-01-27 11:21 ET - News Release

Mr. Pierre Leveille reports

AFRI-CAN MARINE MINERALS CORP. ACQUIRES A 75% UNDIVIDED INTEREST IN 49 KNOWN KIMBERLITE PIPES IN SOUTH-CENTRAL NAMIBIA

Afri-Can Marine Minerals has agreed to acquire a 75-per-cent undivided interest in four exploration licences (EPLs) situated northeast of Gibeon in south-central Namibia from Deep South Mining (Pty.) Ltd. and South-End Mining Corporation (Pty.) Ltd. In terms of the agreement, Afri-Can will acquire the interest in the EPLs for a total cash payment of $400,000 (Namibian) ($72,000 (Canadian)) combined with the issuance of 400,000 shares of Afri-Can.

Forty-nine known kimberlitic pipes are located on a concession area measuring 4,000 square kilometres. Recent reassessment of existing exploration data by the Geological Survey of Namibia now place the boundary of the Kalahari craton west of Gibeon instead of western Botswana where it was originally believed to be located, thus greatly enhancing the diamond prospectivity of the Gibeon kimberlite field. The recent discovery in the area of a 200-metre-deep shaft operated in the early 20th century by German prospectors and of some old German prospecting data, confirm the fact that diamonds were recovered during that period.

It is probable that the Gibeon area and the region to the northeast of Gibeon was drained by the Tsauchab River during the late Cretaceous, and that this river system was most probably the source of the 594,000 carats of diamonds which were mined to the north of the mouth of the Tsauchab River by German operators in the early 20th century. This same river system could also be the source for some of the diamonds discovered on Afri-Can's block J marine concession area, thus enhancing the supply of diamonds brought northward from the Orange River. These stones might also be expected to be larger than stones that transport models calculate, that might have been carried to block J from a more southerly origin.

The work program on the EPLs, which will commence in the southern winter, will include a review of historical data, detailed mapping of the area, which will include the search for additional kimberlites, and the location of the precise position of the cratonic boundary, together with a reclassification of the known kimberlite pipes. Details concerning the exploration programs will be made public once the planning phase is completed.

The agreement to purchase the EPLs is conditional upon approval by Canadian and Namibian regulatory authorities.

[Tackler]

Dianor cues up an Otish play

2004-01-26 by Will Purcell

John Ryder's Dianor Resources has added a slice of the Otish Mountains play to its growing list of diamond projects, through an option deal with Alexis Minerals. The agreement will allow Dianor to earn a 100-per-cent stake in the Queotish 1 property, in exchange for a token cash payment and spending $500,000 on exploration. Just $100,000 of that amount must be spent over the next two years, but interest in the region could grow considerably later this year, as several rival explorers plan drilling programs. Dianor could also poke some holes later this year, but some additional preliminary work might help it zero in on the most likely targets in what has been a tough but potentially rewarding region.

The Queotish property lies in the northern portion of the Otish district, about 50 kilometres northeast of the Renard discoveries made by Ashton Mining of Canada. The property covers about 2,600 hectares just east of the northeastern portion of the Portage project that continues to be worked by Majescor Resources, and it is about 20 kilometres east of the northeastern corner of Ashton's Foxtrot property that hosts the encouraging Renard cluster of pipes.

That places the Queotish property in prime diamond country, but coming up with kimberlite finds in the region has been a tough task for most explorers. Dianor's new play comes complete with some toutable targets, but the play may not attract much notice until its drill actually intersects a diamondiferous kimberlite, due to the lack of diamond success of Ashton's rivals.

BHP Billiton had an option deal with Majescor on the Portage project a few years ago. Early in 2002, BHP thought it had enough data to begin poking holes, but all 18 of its targets proved to be something other than kimberlites. The diamond major mulled over its failure for a few months, then decided to walk away from the play entirely, leaving little Majescor to soldier on alone.

Majescor still has high hopes for the Portage play, as the company believes that BHP drilled only the large geophysical targets that could have delivered another Ekati-sized mine. BHP has had good success with geophysics in Canada's North, and it may not have placed a major emphasis on tying the promising indicator mineral trains to its drill targets.

Drilling purely geophysical targets has successfully delivered kimberlites in the area a bit farther to the south, but diamonds have been hard to come by. Dios Exploration drilled up three bodies on its Hotish play last year, and it sent rock from two of them off for microdiamond recovery. It need not have bothered as things turned out. Both samples, weighing about 170 kilograms in all, failed to return a single microdiamond.

Dios now says that one of its finds had been associated with a suite of indicator minerals that was not among its better batches, while the second find had not been associated with its surface till sampling efforts at all. As a result, Dios still has great expectations for its Hotish play, which is about 120 kilometres south-southwest of the Queotish ground, due to some promising geochemistry.

Dios was not the only company to find kimberlites without a great deal of support form indicator mineral work, although the diamond counts obtained by Ditem Resources and Pure Gold Minerals on the Tichegami property were barely better than Dios's barren results. Ditem and its partner found two kimberlites in 2002 and two more the following year, but two of them proved to be barren, and the other two contained just a single microdiamond each. In all, about 625 kilograms of kimberlite had been processed from the four kimberlites, which are about 100 kilometres south-southwest of Queotish.

Dianor's Queotish play comes complete with some toutable geophysical targets. A year ago, Alexis completed an airborne magnetic survey over the property that yielded six anomalies. Dianor now plans to have the data reviewed by another geophysicist, and a suitable array of targets will be checked out on the ground, using what Dianor call its "efficient and cost-effective target evaluation methodology." That process apparently includes a geochemical assessment, using a combination of till sampling and mobile metal ion work.

Although other Otish explorers have had difficulty in finding kimberlites and diamonds, Ashton has been unusually successful at coming up with both, through a combination of mineral work and geophysics. The company now has 10 discoveries in a small cluster near the central part of its Foxtrot property, including nine Renard bodies, as over half of the company's drill targets proved to be diamondiferous kimberlitic bodies.

Four of the Renard pipes contained enough diamond promise that Ashton completed an initial mini-bulk test on each, coming up with sample grades that varied between 0.50 carat per tonne and 1.34 carats per tonne. In all, about 36.5 tonnes of material yielded close to 24 carats, for an average grade of roughly two-thirds of a carat per tonne. Ashton now plans to take a 600-tonne test spread across those four pipes this year, along with an initial 10-tonne sample from a fifth body.

There is no indication of the value of the Renard diamonds, but there are signs that the bodies have a suitable proportion of larger stones. Included among the 24 carats are three stones that were larger than three-quarters of a carat, including one that weighed about four carats.

As well as its mini-bulk sampling programs, Ashton will be spending a significant sum on exploration farther afield on its Foxtrot property, as well as ground farther to the south, and some of the Foxtrot effort is expected to occur in the area between Renard and Dianor's new play. If Ashton's drillers can maintain their success rate, the Otish play could become a hot item with speculators later this year, and a toutable mini-bulk sample result will aid the area promotions further.

Mr. Ryder could use a promotional helping hand, as his company's stock has been mired in a broad range near a dime over the past year. Dianor is Mr. Ryder's first real crack at running a public company, but he has long been hunting for metals and minerals.

Diamonds have become a top priority in recent years, although he has worked on a wide variety of projects in his career. Now based in Toronto, Mr. Ryder was trained as a geologist in Ireland and spent more than a decade working for the United Kingdom-based mining giant, Rio Tinto. He was involved in a base metal discovery close to home in Ireland, but the job also took him to Saudi Arabia, where he had a helping hand in a big phosphate find.

Mr. Ryder struck out on his own as a consulting geologist in the early 1990s, concentrating his efforts on gold and precious metals in the western hemisphere. That was a busy time for diamond explorers, and Mr. Ryder was quick to add gems to his list of specialties.

In the mid-1990s, Mr. Ryder was working as a consultant for Diadem Resources and its partner on the Leek Springs diamond play, about 200 kilometres northeast of San Francisco in Northern California. Lamproite in the area was found to contain diamonds, and the project was big news for a time.

Diadem and its partners poured a considerable amount of cash into the project, but the diamond recoveries did little to sustain interest in the play. Diadem recovered more than 200 stones, but most of them were tiny and the weight of the samples was never adequately revealed. Nevertheless, the Leek Springs play was a promotional success for Diadem, and the initial diamond recoveries played a major role in lifting the company's stock from about 50 cents to a peak of nearly $9 by the fall of 1996. In addition to the paltry macrodiamond hauls, the Bre-X fiasco and the downturn in the resource sector helped snuff out interest in Leek Springs, but the project gave Mr. Ryder a clear picture of the promotability of a diamond play.

In 2000, Mr. Ryder landed a consulting job with Dianor. His first project was a gold play, but he quickly turned to diamonds. In the spring of 2001, Dianor was briefly a market darling after it recovered a microscopic diamond on its Yasinski North property, in Northern Quebec. The company's shares peaked at 90 cents, up from a dime prior to the switch to gems.

Yasinski diamonds were an even rarer commodity than were the Leek Springs variety, and the company's stock quickly drifted back to a dime, but it whetted Dianor's appetite for gems. It also seemed to appeal to Mr. Ryder, who was made president of the company early in 2002.

A few months later, he survived a shareholder coup that replaced a group headed by David McDonald and Pierre Barnard. Accountant Daniel Duval, a significant shareholder and a Dianor director since 1997, also survived the successful dissident action. Mr. Duval has worked in the resource sector for more than 20 years, much of it as a bean counter with Agnico Eagle.

As well, the dissident coup added a Val d'Or-based financial planner, Jules Dionne, marketer Pierre Paquet and geologist Christian D'Amours to Dianor's board. Mr. Dionne has been running a financial services company since the mid-1990s in his home town, while Mr. Paquet has been a marketing supervisor for forest company Gestofor. Mr. D'Amours is based in Abitibi, so it is no real surprise that his focus has been primarily on gold. He worked for Placer Dome and McWatters Mining before he set up shop as a geological consultant in 1999.

Dianor's shares have been a bit more buoyant of late, recently managing to double its spring low of 6.5 cents, and the Queotish play could aid Mr. Ryder's promotional efforts, if the company can come up with some drill targets for later this year and produce an Ashton-like success rate.

Dianor added a penny on Friday, closing at 15 cents.

[WikkiDTwisteD]

No buyers over .0001. That stock is a supposed known scam, the only people to make money off of it are mm's who control the price. Highest I've seen it in one day is .0008. That lasted all of a half hour.

[mtorian]

CMKM...

...anyone know what drove this stock to over 4.5 billion shares traded yesterday and at .0001?

I own a few shares and am confused as to why so much traffic and no pps change!!

[Ed Monton]

Shore Gold establish shaft station at Star project

2004-01-26 17:01 ET - News Release

Mr. Kenneth MacNeill reports

STAR DIAMOND PROJECT KIMBERLITE PROCESSING UNDERWAY, SHAFT STATION ESTABLISHED, UNDERGROUND DRILLING COMMENCES

The processing plant of the Star diamond project is receiving kimberlite feed as part of the final plant commissioning. A shaft station has been established at the 175-metre level. Shaft sinking has recommenced to provide place for the Galloway stage below the station. Underground drilling, ahead of the lateral drift, has commenced.

Process plant commissioning is proceeding on schedule and in excess of 100 tonnes of kimberlite has been successfully processed through the crushers, scrubber, screens and dense media separator (DMS). DMS mineral concentrate, produced from the processed kimberlite, has been stored in sealed containers prior to processing through the X-ray Flow-Sort and over the grease table in the final recovery area. An X-ray technician from Bateman Engineering, the plant manufacturers, is on site and is finalizing commissioning of the X-ray Flow-Sort. The plant has performed well processing this initial kimberlite feed and routine batch processing of samples is anticipated in early February. Independent consultants, A.C.A Howe Ltd., have supplied additional personnel to review all plant operating procedures and concentrate handling protocols. Plant security procedures and personnel are in place and a 16-camera, digital surveillance system has been installed and is fully operational.

The shaft station on the 175-metre level has been completed with the pouring of the concrete floor. Prior to the further development of the lateral drifts from the station, shaft sinking has recommenced to provide space (15 metres) in the shag below the station, to store the Galloway stage. The location of the Galloway stage below the station is an integral part of the mucking and skipping procedure for the kimberlite mined from the lateral drift. This shaft sinking provides Shore Gold geologists an opportunity to access the station and complete the first underground drilling in a Fort a la Carne kimberlite. Five initial horizontal drill holes are planned which will investigate kimberlite ahead of the lateral drifts and core logs of these holes will be integrated into the three-dimensional geologic model of the Star Kimberlite.

The Star Diamond project is designed to recover a parcel of at least 3,000 carats of diamonds to enable an accurate valuation of the stones. Up to 25,000 tonnes of kimberlite will be recovered from the shaft and drifts and processed on site to produce this diamond parcel.

[Tackler]

Press Release Source: Diamondex Resources Ltd.

Diamondex Resources Ltd.: Lena West Project Update
Monday January 26, 1:56 pm ET


VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--Diamondex Resources Ltd. (DSP-TSXV) ("Diamondex") is pleased to announce that the Company has approved an initial $2.5 million exploration budget for the Lena West project. This project is centered approximately 310 kilometres north of Norman Wells and 200 kilometres southeast of Inuvik in the Northwest Territories. (see www.diamondex.net for property locations). Results from the 2003 exploration programs carried out on several other projects including Bear Head, Hilltop and Kingfish in the Northwest Territories and the Gayot Joint Venture in Quebec during 2003 are pending, and following analysis and completion of all data, project budgets and exploration programs will be announced for all properties in the near future.
ADVERTISEMENT


Lena West Project, Northwest Territories

During 2003, a total of 1,054 stream sediment samples were collected from the Lena West property. To date, approximately 90% of the samples have been processed and 'picked' for kimberlite indicator minerals (KIM's). A total of three (3) diamonds have been recovered and described as measuring approximately 0.8mm, 0.6mm and 0.5mm in their longest dimensions and have been identified in samples collected from three (3) separate drainage areas. In addition, pyrope garnet grains, up to 3mm in size, as well as picroilmenite and chromite grains have been recovered from the majority of samples. Chemical analysis and morphological studies of the kimberlite indicator minerals are currently underway at the Diamond Research Institute in Novosibirsk, Siberia under the direction of Dr. Nikolai P. Pokhilenko. All chemical analysis and morphological studies from the 2003 sampling program will be completed during the first quarter of 2004.

During 2003, Fugro Airborne Surveys conducted a high resolution, horizontal gradient airborne magnetic survey comprising 63,800 line kilometres of flight lines at 300 metre line-spacings. A contract has recently been executed with Fugro to carry out a further 32,500 line kilometres of airborne magnetics over the southern permit areas and is expected to commence around February 15, 2004. To date, a review of the airborne data has indicated several promising targets which will be followed up by detailed ground geophysical surveys, auger-drill assisted sampling programs and diamond drill testing. These programs are expected to commence during the second quarter of 2004.

Diamondex holds a large and prospective portfolio of diamond exploration properties located in the southern Slave province and the lower Mackenzie River area of the Northwest Territories, the Coronation Gulf district of Nunavut and northern Quebec. The company holds up to a 100% interest in 7,672,592 acres comprised of 17 diamond properties.

David Clarke, P.Geol., M.Sc., Vice President of Exploration for Diamondex Resources Ltd. is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and is responsible for program design and quality control of exploration undertaken by Diamondex Resources Ltd.

DIAMONDEX RESOURCES LTD.

Randy C. Turner, President


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contact:

Diamondex Resources Ltd.
Randy C. Turner
President
Phone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Website: www.diamondex.net

[tonedef]

Thanks Dan!

[mweco]

Deann, Thanks for the info. I will put Tahera on my watch list!

[mweco]

Deann, the more I am investigating the diamond industry the more interesting it gets. Based on what I have read I expect the value of rough diamonds to rise at a faster rate compared to the polished final product. In 2002 the rough diamond industry was $9 billion and retail sales were $56 billion. However, only $8 billion was actually mined whereas DeBeers supplied the other from reserves. As these reserves become further depleted, prices should rise substantially. The raw diamond commodity is only 16% of the final product. What has happended recently in several commodity markets is that their price increases have easily been absorbed into the market place. For example, if the value of mined diamonds increases by 50%, the retail price only has to rise by 8% to absorb this increase. I would expect that this is happening as we speak as noted in the recent indications of diamond prices.

http://www.minesite.com/archives/features_archive/2003/July-2003/roughdiamonds180703.htm

[Deann]

mweco . . . okay just found an article on Tahera which states:

"It shows potential lenders we have a market for our product," said Missal explaining the agreement guarantees sales but not diamond prices. The value of Jericho's gems was recently reset at $94 (US) per carat."

The $94 was from 2003 and the Feasibility Report stating $81 was from this month. So, it has already gone down.

This could drive someone nuts!

Here is the link:

http://www.nnsl.com/ops/Mining_03/jun27_03tah.html

[Deann]

mweco . . . just found this:

"Thanks to better than expected quality at its Pipe 9 East deposit, Ellendale diamonds were now fetching prices double the company's expectations at more than $US300 ($390) a carat, he said."