Artemisia, Anuri East both diamondiferous

Vancouver — The newly discovered Artemisia kimberlite pipe in Nunavut has returned promising microdiamond counts for Ashton Mining of Canada (ACA-T) and Pure Gold Minerals (PUG-T).

Located on the 531-sq.-km Kim property, the pipe was discovered earlier this year by following up an indicator mineral dispersion fan. Prospecting subsequently uncovered kimberlite float over an area of 140 by 150 metres. A vertical drill hole was collared in the centre of the float area and intersected kimberlite breccia to the bottom of the hole at 169.2 metres of depth.

Microdiamond counts from a 103.2-kg sample collected from the core returned an encouraging 342 microdiamonds (0.1-to-0.5 mm in one dimension) and 38 macrodiamonds (at least 5 mm in one dimension). The largest stone came in at 1.23-by-1.15-by-1.1 mm.

Based on the promising results additional drill core will be analyzed for microdiamonds, as will 1-tonne of outcropping kimberlite collected during the fall drill program.

The Kim property is situated 500 km north of Yellowknife and is part of the Slave regional joint venture with Ashton holding a 90% stake. Pure Gold has the remaining 10%.

The Anuri East kimberlite body, some 120 km northwest of the Jericho project in Nunavut, has also returned encouraging microdiamond counts. Kennecott discovered the pipe on Tahera’s (TAH-T) Rockinghorse property earlier this year.

Lying to the east of the Anuri pipe, which was discovered in July, the Anuri East body returned 68 diamonds from a 78-kg sample. Some 18 of the stones were greater than 0.5 mm in one dimension with one stone measuring greater than 1mm square mesh size.

Kennecott made the discovery by drill testing a distinct geophysical target near the Anuri kimberlite in a small bay near the shore of Tak Lake. The discovery hole was collared 100 metres back from the target and drilled at a 45 angle. The hole intercepted 36 metres of kimberlite at a down-hole depth of 294-330 metres.

The Anuri body previously returned 337 macros and 600 micros from 656 kg of kimberlite core. Sixty-one of the macros were larger than a 0.5-mm square mesh screen size, and nine of the stones exceeded a 1-mm square mesh size. The largest stone recovered weighed three-quarters of a carat.

Under a revised joint-venture agreement, Kennecott — a division of Rio Tinto (RTP-N) — can earn an initial 25% interest in the Rockinghorse and Hood River properties by spending $25 million on exploration by 2008. Kennecott can earn up to a 62.5% stake by funding all costs up to, and including, a bankable feasibility study.

Additional drilling on the Anuri East kimberlite is slated for Feb.