Diamonds North rises on Tuktu results;Diamonds North rises on Tuktu results

VANCOUVER — High initial diamond counts from additional pipes at Diamonds North Resources’ (DDN-V, DDNFF-O) Tuktu kimberlite cluster on its Amaruk property, Nunavut, gave the gem hunter a significant market boost recently.

A 107-kg sample from the Tuktu-2 kimberlite yielded 607 diamonds caught in a 0.106-mm sieve size and greater. Another 219 diamonds were recovered from 37.85 kg of kimberlite taken from the Tuktu-3 pipe.

Both pipes are adjacent to the Tuktu-1 kimberlite, which delivered a diamond count of 550 stones earlier this year from an 81.75-kg sample. The Tuktu-1, 2 and 3 pipes have averaged diamond counts of 6.73, 5.67 and 5.79 per kg, respectively. The company says the results are comparable to initial results from some of the top producing kimberlites in Canada.

On the news, shares of the diamond explorer shot up as much as 60% — touching an intraday high of $1.41 on strong volume — before settling back down to the 90 range.

Of the stones recovered greater than 0.3 mm, 98% of the Tuktu-2 diamonds and more than 80% of Tuktu-3 diamonds are classified as white. Most of the stones from both samples are clear and octahedral.

Based on the high initial diamond tally and tonnage potential of the Tuktu kimberlites, Diamonds North president and CEO Mark Kolebaba describes the cluster as the company’s top priority for this year.

Sampling of the Tuktu-4 through Tuktu-9 pipes all yielded counts of less than 1 diamond per kg.

The company says its Tuktu-1, 2, 3 and 4 pipes form a kimberlite complex with a geophysical expression of roughly 5 hectares. Additional adjoining targets — yet to be drilled — could boost this target to as much as 12 hectares.

A planned mini-bulk sampling program will give the company a more representative evaluation of the kimberlites. A high percentage of the stones recovered from Tuktu-1, 2 and 3 are smaller (less than 0.3 mm)– suggesting possible breakage from the reverse-circulation (RC) and percussion drilling used for extraction.

Diamonds North has discovered 22 kimberlites on its Amaruk project, in the Pelly Bay diamond district, with more than 90% of them proving diamondiferous. Half of the pipes have diamond counts the company deems high enough to warrant advanced exploration.

Tuktu-1 sits roughly 15 km from the Qavvik kimberlites, where the company recently announced results from two RC drill-hole samples. A 103.4-kg sample from Qavvik-5 yielded 130 diamonds, while a 107.7-kg sample at Qavvik-6 turned up 118 stones.

A third kimberlite cluster, known as Char, sits roughly 30 km from Tuktu. Recent sampling at Char returned 65 diamonds from 135.35 kg of kimberlite.