Having discovered and developed the Snap Lake diamond project, which
Diamondex was spun off from Winspear Diamonds in 1999 and initially set up with $1 million in cash, along with the non-core assets of Winspear covering 2,460 sq. km of prospective properties outside the Camsell Lake claim block. Since then, Diamondex has expanded its northern holdings to more than 5,200 sq. km and completed four equity financings that raised a total of $16.2 million. With $5 million in working capital and 27 million shares outstanding, the company trades at around $1 in a 52-week range of $1.94-50. It expects to spend a total of $3-4 million on exploration in the current year.
In 2001, Diamondex joined the staking rush that engulfed the Coronation Gulf district of Nunavut following the discovery of several highly diamondiferous kimberlites by
The junior acquired a large block of ground adjoining the western boundary of the Vic property held by the Ashton and
Diamondex can earn a 70% interest in Peregrine by spending $1 million on exploration before the end of 2004 and issuing 100,000 shares.
In March, the property was subjected to a magnetic/electromagnetic airborne survey at 75-metre line spacings, for a total of 8,325 line km. Results are pending. Ground geophysical surveys will be conducted on targets identified from the survey, followed by a summer program of till sampling and geological mapping.
“The cost of a program like this is approximately $1.2 million, which is typical for work carried out in that part of the world,” President Randy Turner told delegates at the recent convention of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada in Toronto. The $1.2-million budget includes a contingency for drilling.
Diamondex added to its holdings in the north Slave area by staking a further 200 sq. km in two claim blocks, which together comprise the Heeqqu property. The junior will spend $600,000 exploring the new claims with airborne geophysical surveys, followed by till sampling and ground geophysics. The Heeqqu claims are 40 km southwest of the Rockinghorse project, a joint venture between
Carat property
Diamondex has spent the past couple of years fulfilling its earn-in agreement on the Carat property, 340 km northeast of Yellowknife, and now holds a 70% interest. The remainder is held by
Carat comprises a contiguous 37.5 sq. km and adjoins the northwestern corner of the outlying Buffer zone claims of the Ekati diamond mine. Till sampling shows widespread, low counts of kimberlite indicator minerals in the southwestern and south-central parts of the property. After conducting airborne and ground geophysical surveys, Diamondex drilled nine targets in the spring of 2001, resulting in the discovery of the CT-55 kimberlite pipe, 20 km northeast of Ekati’s Sable pipe. However, CT-55 proved difficult to drill and Diamondex was unable cut through the overlying crater kimberlite facies. Only two microdiamonds were recovered from 242 kg of tested core. (A microdiamond is here defined as measuring less than 0.55 mm in at least one dimension.)
Turner says the Diamondex-Tyler joint venture is the fourth owner to have explored the Carat property but the first to discover a kimberlite. He believes the property offers potential for further discoveries, and several targets remain untested.
Last year, Diamondex explored the King property to determine if the neighbouring Snap Lake kimberlite dyke continued on to its wholly owned ground. The King property covers a contiguous 450 sq. km and adjoins the northern boundary of De Beers’ Snap Lake project.
The Snap Lake dyke contains indicated reserves of 22.8 million tonnes at a minable grade of 1.65 carats per tonne, equivalent to 37.6 million carats at a present value of US$90 per carat. A further 20 million tonnes are inferred.
Prior to being taken over by De Beers, Winspear completed a drill program which confirmed the downdip extension of the main NW dyke to within several hundred metres of the King property boundary. The near-horizontal dyke gently dips 15 to the northeast over a confirmed distance of 3.2 km north-south, 3.1 km east-west and to a depth of 1 km. It averages a thickness of 2-3 metres but narrows to 1.3 metres at the eastern margin.
Diamondex tested the potential downdip extension of the Snap Lake dyke with six deep holes drilled on 800-metre centres. Five intersected multiple intercepts of narrow kimberlite dykes and stringers, ranging in thickness from 1 cm to 1.63 metres. A sixth hole was abandoned because of drilling difficulties.
Caustic fusion analysis was carried out on samples from four holes. The first hole was not tested, owing to the “feathered” nature of the 17 kimberlite intervals, which individually ranged from 2 to 33 cm in thickness over a 60-metre interval starting at a depth of 1,101 metres. A 56.5-kg aggregate sample of kimberlite yielded 327 microdiamonds between a square-screen sieve size of 0.1 and 0.6 mm, and 19 larger stones exceeding a 0.6-mm screen size, including 2 stones greater than a 1.18-mm sieve. The two largest stones recovered measured 2.08 by 1.45 by 0.49 mm and 2.05 by 1.37 by 0.72 mm.
2D seismic survey
In addition to the drill program, an experimental two-dimensional reflection seismic survey, jointly financed by Diamondex and De Beers, was carried out over the Snap Lake project and the southern portion of the King property. The survey reportedly defined the Snap Lake dyke horizon at depth on the King property.
Diamondex will follow up on the preliminary seismic results with a 3.6-line-km vibroseis seismic survey across the southern part of the King property at right angles to the original seismic line. The vibroseis survey is designed to determine both the lateral and vertical variations in the dykes.
Spring drilling
In conjunction with the seismic survey, the company followed up on 10 high-priority targets selected from a 3,700-line-km airborne geophysical survey carried out in 2001. Ground work included magnetic, resistivity and gravity surveys. Four targets displaying coincidental anomalies will be tested during a spring drilling campaign, and 10 airborne targets are being evaluated by ground geophysical surveys.
Diamondex says King’s $500,000 budget will increase significantly with the proposed drilling program.
The company recently staked some 33.5 sq. km adjoining King’s western border. The claims, known as the Czar property, are being subjected to an airborne survey at 150-metre line spacings, for a projected total of 1,800 line km.
Meanwhile, Diamondex has set aside $700,000 to explore the Bear Head property, which adjoins the southern boundary of the Snap Lake project and comprises 1,420 sq. km. Last year, a 4,700-line-km airborne survey generated 10 targets, four of which are considered high-priority. Spring drilling is planned.
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