DIAMOND PAGE — Monopros launches winter program on AK property

De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBRS-Q) has given the green light to a $14-million bulk-sampling program on the AK diamond property in the Northwest Territories.

Monopros, the exploration arm of De Beers, plans to recover, through large-diameter (121/4-inch) drilling, approximately 1,000 carats each from the Hearne, Tuzo and 5034 pipes, plus 200 carats from the smaller Tesla pipe. The program is designed to allow for improved assessment of the value of the diamonds and provide more information on in situ grades.

The work is scheduled to begin in late January 1999 and last 10-12 weeks. Samples will be processed in Grande Prairie, Alta., using a 5-tonne-per-hour dense-media-separation plant, which is being shipped from South Africa. The sample concentrates will be sent to De Beers South African laboratory for final recovery of the diamonds.

Monopros can earn up to a 60% interest in the AK and CJ properties, which are currently held 90% by Mountain Province Mining (MPV-V) and 10% by Camphor Ventures (CFV-V).

A separate program, to begin this month, will consist of 18 delineation core drill holes. The program is designed to provide a better definition of the four pipes at depth.

Mountain Province estimates the Hearne pipe contains a resource of 8 million tonnes; the Tuzo pipe, 9 million tonnes; and the Tesla pipe, 4 million tonnes — all to a depth of 300 metres. These estimates are based on a limited number of delineation holes and the size of the geophysical anomalies. The Tuzo pipe is still open to the southwest, and the original 5034 kimberlite is open to the northeast.

The 5034 pipe is estimated to contain a resource of 15 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.6 carats per tonne. The 5034 stones are valued at US$51 per carat for an implied value of US$82 per tonne.

De Beers has determined preliminary estimates of grade and diamond values for the three other pipes: the Hearne pipe grades 2.33 carats per tonne at US$44 per carat, equivalent to US$103 per tonne; Tuzo has an indicated grade of 2.2 carats at US$68 per carat, giving an implied value of US$150 per tonne; and Tesla grades 0.37 carat at US$96 per carat, equal to US$36 per tonne.

In addition to the bulk-sampling work, an aggressive exploration program is planned for the coming winter on both the AK and CJ property blocks. Monopros has identified 11 significant clusters of anomalous kimberlite indicator minerals on the AK property alone. The most promising of these targets will drilled this winter after a full evaluation of sampling and geophysical results.