FORT A LA CORNE
Sask. has diamonds in its future
Barry Glass
Saskatchewan News Network
Saturday, October 02, 2004
FORT A LA CORNE -- Although many hurdles are yet to be cleared, the president of a Victoria-based diamond exploration company believes Saskatchewan will be a significant location in the world's diamond industry.
Robert McCallum, president of Kensington Resources Ltd., spoke to more than 30 people on a recent tour of the company's joint venture claims in the Fort a la Corne area, 70 kilometres northeast of Prince Albert.
He noted Saskatchewan's uranium and potash industries have been instrumental in creating a worldwide reputation for the province as a great location for mining.
"We believe it won't be too long until diamonds is added to this as well," said McCallum. "We really believe there's momentum building at Fort a la Corne."
The company's partners in the joint venture are De Beers Canada Exploration Inc., Cameco Corporation and UEM Inc.
A task force has recently been formed by the partners to look at ways to accelerate a development decision on the project.
The partners have also embarked on a $7.62-million drilling program for 2004-2005, their largest to date.
McCallum said one of the things that they have to continue to impress on investors and other interested parties is how large the project is.
The size and number of kimberlite pipes, a type of ore formation which sometimes carries diamonds, are staggering, said McCallum.
The joint venture has claims on more than 60 kimberlite bodies with a total mass of roughly 10 billion tonnes.
"That's enough to swallow up all other kimberlites in existence," said McCallum.
As far as they know currently, 45 of the kimberlites are diamondiferous and 30 of those contain macrodiamonds, which are stones with at least one side greater than 0.5 millimetre.
The drilling and modelling programs underway are meant to eventually determine the grade and value of the diamonds, but McCallum said all attributes of the project point to a low-cost potential mine.
The close proximity to the North Saskatchewan River, the electrical grid, a paved highway and many small communities nearby to provide a reliable and stable source of labour are among those attributes, said McCallum.
However, any mine, if feasible, is more than eight years away in the best-case scenario.
Even so, McCallum said if it does go into development, the Fort a la Corne project easily has the potential for being the largest diamond mine in the world.
Prince Albert Daily Herald
