Ashton finds kimberlite at Kikerk Lake (May 22, 2002)

Ashton Mining of Canada (ACA-T) has intersected a new kimberlite body on the Kikerk Lake property in the north Slave Craton region of Nunavut while drill-testing a geophysical feature, just 700 metres east of the diamond-bearing Potentilla kimberlite.

A vertical hole drilled into a 160-by-50-metre shaped anomaly passed through 20 metres of glacial overburden and 35 metres of underlying dolomitic limestone before intersecting 39 metres of hypabyssal kimberlite. The hole exited the kimberlite body at a depth of 94 metres and terminated in limestone at 129 metres of depth.

The newly discovered body, called Stellaria, is oriented along a 2-km-long linear geophysical feature. A portion of this feature sits directly up-ice of a kimberlite indicator mineral train hosting a significant G10 garnet population. Two additional targets on the Kikerk Lake property were tested this winter without intersecting kimberlite.

Earlier this month, Ashton and its joint-venture partners collected a mini-bulk drill sample weighing 5.5 tonnes from seven core holes into the Potentilla kimberlite. Discovered last fall, Potentilla returned 230 microdiamonds and 22 macrodiamonds from a 207.8-kg aggregate drill sample of two distinct facies; an upper layer of kimberlite breccia underlain by hypabyssal kimberlite. (A macrodiamond is defined here as exceeding 0.5 mm in at least one dimension.) Ten of the macros were greater than 0.5 mm in two dimensions.

The bulk-sample drilling, which included two vertical holes and five angle holes, indicates Potentilla is oriented north-south, with maximum surface dimensions of 110 by 50 metres. The holes all exited kimberlite at vertical depths ranging from 55 to 205 metres. An additional angle hole was drilled 100 metres north of the discovery hole in an attempt to test a subtle magnetic halo, but it failed to intersect any kimberlite. The Potentilla mini-bulk sample will be tested for commercial-size diamonds at Ashton’s laboratory in North Vancouver. Results won’t be available until the third quarter.

Data from a recently completed airborne geophysical survey over the northwestern portion of the Kikerk Lake property are being assessed for ground follow-up work this summer.

The Kikerk Lake property is now held 52.5% by Ashton, 30% by Northern Empire Minerals (NEM-V) and 17.5% by Caledonia Mining (CAL-T). Ashton can increase its interest to 59.5% by carrying Caledonia through to completion of a feasibility study. Northern Empire retains its 30% working interest.

In a separate development, Ashton has modified its deal with Augusta Resource (YAU-V) so that it now covers six properties totalling 3,250 sq. km in the Coronation Gulf region. Working on behalf of Augusta, Ashton will conduct reconnaissance heavy mineral sampling programs across the six wholly owned properties at Augusta’s expense. Based on the sampling results, Ashton can then elect to earn a 60% interest in each of the properties by spending an aggregate of $8.7 million before April 30, 2006.