Diamonds recovered from Greenland venture

Diamond exploration in West Greenland has yielded some interesting counts from surface sampling of float boulders on a 51-49 joint venture project held by Monopros and Dia Met Minerals (DMM-T).

A 140-kg sample from occurrence 98-18 returned five macrodiamonds and 474 micros. (A macro is defined as exceeding 0.5 mm in at least one dimension.) The microdiamonds consisted of mostly graphite-coated fragments, suggesting “natural processes” were responsible for the fragmentation. None of the samples was subjected to blasting, drilling or diamond-cutting tools, and all were hand-picked. The significance of the graphitization will not be known until further studies are carried out.

Target 98-18 occurs along a lineament and consists of approximately 200 boulders, the size of which ranges up to 2 by 1 by 1 metres. The distribution of the boulders suggests the source is a dyke. Dia Met indicates further work is required to confirm the nature of target 98-18. Additional results are pending.

Surface sampling in other areas of the 586-sq.-km project yielded the following results:

• a 20-kg sample of dyke material from occurrence 98-2 returned two micros;
• 160 kg of kimberlite dyke in the 98-44 area yielded two micros;
• nine micros were recovered from 140 kg of sampled float in the 98-45 area;
• a 50-kg sample of float material collected from target 98-1 returned a single micro; and
• five micros were recovered from a 48-kg sample of float in the area of 98-5.

  Although a preliminary exploration program is planned for 1999, it will not begin until all results from work carried out in 1998 are complete.

Monopros, the Canadian subsidiary of De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBRS-Q), is the operator of the West Greenland joint venture. Citation Resources (CUE-V) holds a back-in right to a 20% interest from Dia Met if it chooses to reimburse that company for 20% of all costs incurred by the joint venture. If Citation elects not to participate, it will retain a 1% royalty on Dia Met’s interest.

Citation also has a 49% stake in a second West Greenland project, where Dia Met is the operator and owner of a 31% position. Cantex Mine Development (CD-A) holds the remaining 20%. The project comprises eight exploration licences covering 6,043 sq. km.

The heavy mineral processing of 505 follow-up bulk till samples shows that 30 of the samples contain “highest-priority” diamond indicator minerals and that a further 61 samples contain “moderate-to-high-priority” indicator minerals. The samples were collected during the 1998 summer exploration program from areas down-ice of high-priority airborne geophysical targets, as well as from areas of anomalous indicator minerals.

The highest-priority samples mostly contain G-10 garnets that rate between 6 and 10 on Gurney’s G-10 scale of 1 to 10, and between 4 and 6 for samples containing moderate-to-high-priority indicator minerals.

Gurney’s scale was developed by John Gurney, a noted South African professor and geochemist. Garnets classified within the G10 scale are known to originate from kimberlites with moderate-to-very-high diamond counts on a world-wide basis. Citation quotes Dia Met as stating that “the G-10 garnets recovered from the till samples from the company’s West Greenland project are equal in quality to results from Dia Met’s Lac de Gras, N.W.T., diamond mine area.”

Results from an additional 57 till samples are pending. Earlier this year, the partners announced the results of surface sampling of an outcropping 1-to-2-metre-thick kimberlite sill. A 238-kg sample was found to contain 11 clear microdiamonds and “large quantities” of kimberlite indicator minerals of diamond inclusion compositions. Seven of the micros are described as colourless.

A ground geophysical survey program is set to begin readying lake-based targets for a spring drilling program, with drilling of land-based targets scheduled for later this summer.

Several other Canadian junior exploration companies carried out exploration programs in West Greenland in 1998:

• Aber Resources (ABZ-T) spent approximately $1 million exploring a property held in joint venture with Platinova (PAS-T). Aber can earn a half-interest by funding all exploration costs until it has either completed 10,000 metres of drilling or taken a 1,000-tonne bulk sample from a kimberlite body.

  Aber collected nearly 600 till samples during the summer of 1998, as well as surface samples from several kimberlite dykes and boulder showings, which exhibited “encouraging visible indicator mineralogy.” The company previously reported that the results are encouraging and that a drilling program is under consideration for 1999.

  Alan Bayless, manager of investor relations and corporate affairs, says that as of Dec. 31, 1998, Aber has dropped a large portion of its licence in order to focus on the most prospective areas. The company now holds 814 sq. km, compared with a previously held 12,140 sq. km.

• Fjordland Minerals (FML-V) pared back its holdings in southwestern Greenland to 301 sq. km from a previously held 7,207 sq. km. The company has decided to focus on the single area that has produced the most encouraging indicator minerals, while keeping certain other licences based on the results of other Greenland explorers.

  Market conditions hampered Fjordland’s ability to raise funds in 1998; consequently, a planned 3-month program was cut by half. In total, 313 follow-up till samples were collected in previously defined areas of anomalous indicator minerals. Limited geophysical surveying was also competed in a number of a prospective areas.

• Lexam Explorations (LEX-M) was unable to satisfy its Greenland exploration commitments in 1998 owing to its inability to raise funds. Lexam is participating in a joint venture with Platinova. The current shortfall in Lexam’s exploration expenditures is $1.1 million. The company has spent a total of about $2 million to date.

  Lexam has made arrangements to carry forward its exploration commitments into 1999. The company expects to reduce its exploration licence holdings in Greenland in order to focus on areas of merit and limit property-holding costs. During the 1998 summer program, follow-up work on 81 airborne geophysical targets resulted in 24 of the anomalies being targeted for detailed till sampling. The results of that program have not been released.

• Platinova carried out its own summer field program, evaluating 50 prospective geochemical and geophysical targets on wholly owned ground in west-central Greenland. Approximately 328 till samples were collected, with results yet to be made public. Additional till samples were also taken in the area around the previously announced discovery of kimberlite boulders, 80 km from Kangerlussuaq. Preliminary results showed some of the indicator mineral grains having compositions that fell within the diamond-inclusion field.