Drybones Bay kimberlite yields stones

A kimberlite discovery in the Drybones Bay area, southwest of Yellowknife, N.W.T., has proved diamondiferous.

New Shoshoni Ventures (NSV-V) found the DB-2 body during a winter drilling campaign designed to test several discreet geophysical anomalies peripheral to the known Drybones Bay kimberlite pipe. DB-2 was partially tested by three holes. New Shoshoni pulled kimberlite intercepts of 87 metres and 131 metres from the second and third holes. The first hole failed to reach its targeted depth and was shut down after intersecting a kimberlite dyke.

Drill samples were analyzed for microdiamonds at Charles Fipke’s C.F. Mineral Research laboratory in Kelowna, B.C. In total, 128 diamonds were recovered from 78 kg of drill core sampled from the second hole. New Shoshoni failed to break down the distribution of the microdiamonds using the more detailed square mesh screen-size classification. With the exception of four stones, all the diamonds were less than 0.5 mm in any dimension. The two largest stones measured 0.98 by 0.75 by 0.36 mm and 0.51 by 0.42 by 0.12 mm.

The new discovery was made 750 metres south-southwest of the Drybones Bay pipe, held under option by New Shoshoni. The company can earn a 100% interest in the 20-sq.-km property by spending $1.2 million on exploration and paying $100,000 in cash over four years. Trade Winds Resources spent three drilling seasons on the Drybones Bay pipe before walking away in early 1998. Diamond results proved disappointing. Trade Winds recovered only 97 diamonds greater than 0.5 mm in dimension from 10 tonnes of kimberlite collected from 21 drill holes. The Drybones Bay pipe is a complex, multi-phase intrusion comprising an area measuring 900 by 400 metres.

Elsewhere in the Drybones area, Snowfield Development (SNO-V) and Diamonds North Resources (DDN-V) have completed a 9-hole drilling program on the Gten claims, 40 km southeast of Yellowknife, without intersecting any kimberlite.

The program was designed to test the source of kimberlite indicator minerals down-ice of the claims. Under an option agreement with Michael Magrum, Brian Weir and Diamonds North, Snowfield can earn up to a half-interest by spending $950,000 on exploration. Diamonds North retains a 25% stake. Further till sampling and geophysics are planned for the summer.

This past winter, Snowfield discovered a 7-metre thick, flat-lying, sill-like kimberlite body while drilling its Mudlake property, 5 km southeast of Drybones Bay. The company elected not to analyze some 40 kg of kimberlite recovered from eight of holes for microdiamonds and instead submitted representative samples to R.L. Barnett Geological Consulting for indicator mineral analysis.

Snowfield can earn an 80% interest in the Mudlake property from prospector David Smith by spending $2 million on exploration before Oct. 31, 2005, paying $400,000 over 31 months, and issuing 2.4 million shares over 39 months.