About a third of a 15,000-tonne underground bulk sample of the land-based JD/OD-1 pipe at the Jericho project in the Northwest Territories has been processed.
Partners Lytton Minerals (LTL-T) and New Indigo Resources (NDR-A) report that the sample is being processed through a 250-tonne-per-day pilot test plant at the Lupin gold mine site, 20 km to the south.
Diamonds weighing 6,549.93 carats were recovered from 5,088 tonnes of kimberlite for a grade of 1.29 carats per tonne. This compares to a 94.5-tonne mini-bulk drill sample which yielded a preliminary grade of 1.46 carats per tonne for diamonds larger than 1 mm, or 1.03 carats per tonne for those stones greater than 2 mm. Early valuations averaged US$95 per carat.
Formal valuations of the diamonds recovered from the underground bulk sample will be sought from independent sources in the coming weeks. In terms of distribution, 43% of the stones recovered to date are less than 0.25 carat, 25% are from 0.25 to 1 carat, another 25% are from 1 to 5 carats and 7% of the diamonds exceed 5 carats.
The JD/OD-1 is one of three diamondiferous kimberlites identified on the 1 million-acre project. It is estimated to contain a resource of 15 million tonnes.
Lytton and New Indigo have proposed merging the two companies to consolidate their respective interests into one corporate entity focused on diamond exploration and development in Canada. The terms of the amalgamation will be determined following an independent evaluation of the two companies.
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