THE DIAMOND PAGE — Winspear, Aber pull more kimberlite in N.W.T.

Partners Winspear Resources (WSP-V) and Aber Resources (ABZ-T) have pulled more kimberlite from their Camsell Lake project, near Snap Lake in the Northwest Territories. A second vertical hole into Anomaly 186 intersected 98.5 metres of complex kimberlite breccia beginning at a depth of 119.3 metres.

The hole was collared 55 metres west of the discovery hole, which encountered 107 metres of similarly complex kimberlite breccia, starting at a depth of 103 metres.

Several pyrope garnets and a 0.9-Mm diamond were observed during a preliminary examination of the core in the field. The core has been shipped to Vancouver for logging and sampling.

Meanwhile, samples from the discovery hole, together with samples from previously reported kimberlite dyke intersections, have been submitted to Lakefield Research for diamond and indicator mineral analysis. Results are pending.

Ownership of the project is split between Winspear and Aber, with 57.3% and 42.7% interests, respectively.

The partners recently wrapped up their spring drilling program in the Snap Lake area, where diamondiferous kimberlite boulders and anomalous concentrations of pyrope garnets and chromites were discovered in the autumn of 1996. In total, 37 holes comprising 6,192 metres were completed.

Drilling intersected 13 kimberlite dyke intervals within a 1-sq.-km area on the western side of Snap Lake. Three macrodiamonds, measuring more than 0.5 mm in at least one dimension, were observed in the dyke intersections during preliminary field examination of the core.

On the eastern side of Snap Lake, two holes encountered a complex kimberlite breccia body at the site of Anomaly 186. Currently, a geophysical test survey using deep-penetrating electromagnetic (EM) techniques is under way in an attempt to determine the potential size of the kimberlite body.

The partners anticipate an active summer exploration program at the Camsell Lake project, consisting of additional till sampling and possibly further drilling. Much of the area of interest is land-based and can be readily drilled during summer and autumn. The drill rig remains on the property in anticipation of additional drilling.