Equal partners Ashton Mining of Canada (ACA-T) and Quebec government-owned Soquem are at it again adding another three kimberlite bodies within 1 km of the diamondiferous Renard 2 kimberlitic body on the Foxtrot joint venture property in the Otish Mountains region of Quebec.
The latest discoveries come on the heels of the discovery of the Renard 3 kimberlite in late March. Dubbed Renard 4,5, and 6, the bodies contain both hypabyssal and diatreme facies material.
Each target was tested by two holes, one vertical or near-vertical and one angled at minus 50. All but one of the vertical holes was terminated in kimberlitic material.
On Renard 4 and 6, vertical drilling cut kimberlitic material to a depth of 102 metres, after running through 9 and 6 metres of overburden, respectively. On Renard 5, the hole, drilled at minus 80, cut kimberlitic material between 13 and 107 metres.
The angled holes on Renard 4 and 6 returned 78 metres of kimberlitic material, while Renard 5 surrendered just 18 metres.
The drill core from the new discoveries will sent to Ashton’s North Vancouver laboratory for microdiamond processing.
The latest discoveries come at the end of the winter 2002 field program.
In late March, Ashton and Soquem announced the discovery of a third kimberlitic body on their Foxtrot joint venture property. Renard 3 lies just 200 metres east-southeast of the diamondiferous Renard 2 body. A vertical hole cut kimberlitic rock under 22 metres of overburden and was still in kimberlite at 90 metres of depth when Ashton announced the discovery.
Last fall, the partners hit the property’s first kimberlitic body by drilling during drilling aimed at testing four high-priority magnetic geophysical targets. The holes were limited to a depth of 100 metres by budgetary constraints.
The first body, Renard 1, surrendered 54 microdiamonds and five macrodiamonds from 205.8 kg of sampled core. (A macrodiamond is defined here as exceeding 0.5 mm in at least one dimension.) Renard 1 consists primarily of hypabyssal material, with brecciated material occurring near the bottom of the hole.
About 1 km to the south, Renard 2 was discovered beneath 18 metres of overburden. In all, 116 micros and 29 macros were recovered from 163.1 kg of core samples, including five stones greater than 0.5 mm in two dimensions. Renard 2 is described as a xenolith-rich autolithic breccia, with local variations of xenolith and olivine macrocrysts.
Results of diamond analysis of a 2-tonne mini-test sample are expected during the second quarter. The analysis will focus on commercial-size diamonds. Ashton and Soquem hold more than more than 3,800 sq. km of mineral permits in two areas: the Otish Mountains region, 275 km northeast of Chibougamou, and the Caniapiscau area, 500 km east-northeast of Radisson.
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