Renard 2 shows promising grade

With the latest batch of bulk-sample results in hand for Renard 2, Ashton Mining of Canada (ACA-T) and partner Soquem have met their goal of recovering at least 300 carats of diamonds from four of the better-grade kimberlitic bodies on the Foxtrot property in north-central Quebec.

Soquem is a Crown corporation of the government of Quebec.

In 2004, the partners drilled 59 core holes (72 tonnes) and 23 large-diameter reverse-circulation holes (567 tonnes) during the bulk-sampling campaign on Renard 2, 3, 4 and 65, collecting a 635-tonne sample.

Of the 577 tonnes of kimberlite processed so far, 428 carats of diamonds exceeding 1.18 mm have been recovered. Twenty-five of the diamonds weigh more than 1 carat apiece, including eight that exceed 2 carats each. With results pending for another 60 tonnes from Renard 4 and 25 tonnes from Renard 65, the joint venture expects to have a final parcel of about 450 carats of diamonds ready for valuation at the beginning of the second quarter.

In the most recent batch of results, 162 tonnes of sample collected by reverse-circulation drilling from Renard 2 returned 146 carats of diamonds for an estimated grade of 0.9 carat per tonne. The sample held 13 diamonds weighing more than 1 carat apiece, including a pale-grey tetrahexahedroidal-composite weighing 2.27 carats, a clear pale yellow tetrahexahedroidal crystal weighing 2.05 carats, and a pale-brown 1.87-carat partial octahedral.

Renard 2 measures 120 by 65 metres, or 0.6 hectare. The 162-tonne sample was collected by drilling six vertical reverse-circulation holes to an average depth of 195 metres. Five of the six holes ended in kimberlitic material. An additional smaller sample of 11.5 tonnes collected during the 2004 summer from the drilling of eight core holes yielded a previously reported grade of 1.15 carats per tonne, based on the recovery of 13.3 carats of diamonds. The largest diamond in the drill core sample batch was a brown, 1.18-carat tetrahexahedroid-type crystal.

Renard 2 had originally shown grades of 0.64 carat per tonne, based on the recovery of 8.72 carats exceeding a 0.85-mm cutoff in a 2003 sample of 13.5 tonnes.

In total, 187 tonnes of kimberlitic material from Renard 2 have yielded 168 carats for an implied diamond content of 0.9 carat per tonne. A detailed look at the cumulative bulk-sampling results to date for each of the Renard 2, 3, 4 and 65 bodies is provided in the accompanying table.

CUMULATIVE BULK SAMPLING RESULTS

KimberliticSizeApp. Dimen.Sample Wt.DiamondsLargestEstimated

Body(ha)(metres)(tonnes)Recovered (ct)Diamonds (ct)Grade (ct/t)

Renard 20.6120 by 651871682.27, 2.05, 1.87, 1.18, 0.940.90

Renard 30.3145 by 251652044.3, 2.7, 2.29, 1.82, 1.011.24

Renard 41.0180 by 70123.355.572.9, 0.69, 0.66, 0.61, 0.490.45

Renard 651.5280 by 60158.840.84.0, 0.92, 0.88, 0.83, 0.820.26