SouthernEra plans drilling

SouthernEra Resources (SUF-T) will drill a single hole at its MacKay Lake property in the Northwest Territories in order to test the possible northeastern extension of the NW Snap Lake dyke.

Recently, Winspear Diamonds (WSP-T) completed a dozen stepout and infill holes on the Snap Lake dyke as part of a “value recognition” program in response to what turned out to be a successful takeover bid by South Africa’s De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBRSY-Q). By Aug. 27, more than 91% of Winspear’s outstanding shares had been tendered to De Beers’ revised cash offer of $5 per share.

Winspear is the operator and 67.76%-owner of the Snap Lake underground diamond project, 220 km northeast of Yellowknife. Aber Diamond (abz-t) holds the remainder.

Based on initial results from the first seven holes of this year’s summer program, the NW dyke has been extended over a distance of 3.2 km north-south and 3.1 km east-west. One of the most northerly holes intersected a 3.27-metre intercept of kimberlite (including 0.63 metre of internal waste) within 400 metres of the property boundary shared with Diamondex Resources (dsp-v), suggesting that the NW dyke may extend on to the King property. However, the depth of the dyke is approaching 1,000 metres to the north and to the east, where the eastern margin of the structure appears to have narrowed to about 1.3 metres.

SouthernEra says that one of Winspear’s most northeasterly holes is within 1 km of its MacKay Lake property boundary. A drill rig is being mobilized to the property so that one hole can be completed before the onslaught of winter.

The MacKay Lake property is held 70% by SouthernEra and 30% by Kalahari Resources (KLA-V). Since assuming operatorship of MacKay Lake and the neighbouring Back Lake project in 1994, SouthernEra has conducted extensive geophysical and till-sampling programs, followed by several drilling campaigns. By late 1997, SouthernEra had defined five distinct indicator mineral trains on the MacKay Lake property. Further till sampling was carried out in 1998 and 1999.

In recent years, SouthernEra has concentrated its efforts on the Back Lake property, where a swarm of 11 narrow kimberlite dykes were intersected during drilling in 1996 and 1997. Last year, the company discovered the likely source of diamond-bearing kimberlite boulders found in 1997 near the shore of Munn Lake. A 581-kg sample of these boulders returned 62 macrodiamonds and 164 micros.

A kimberlite sill was discovered in Munn Lake in an area associated with a lake-bottom depression. The kimberlite body extends for 1,300 metres along strike and ranges between 0.06 and 1.86 metres in thickness. A 42-kg composite sample yielded 2 macros and 12 micros.

The Back Lake project is held 60.4% by SouthernEra, 26.8% by Kalahari and 12.78% by Island-Arc Resources (IAR-V). During the spring, Kalahari completed six holes totalling 962 metres, while unsuccessfully searching for the source of the Margaret Lake indicator mineral train. Two targets in Munn Lake were also tested, but to no avail.