French company eyes diamonds

French-based Guyanor Ressources (TSE) will explore a 25-sq.-km property in central French Guiana that contains a known diamond occurrence.

Diamonds were discovered in the Inini area in 1978 when Bureau de Recherches Geologiques et Minieres (BRGM) identified two surficial deposits. BRGM estimated the diamond potential of one of the deposits to be 2 million tons grading 2.16 carats per ton, and a possible source area was found to contain both diamonds and high-chromium chromite. Although the recovered diamonds were small, Guyanor’s management suspects this was due to the sampling techniques used. The company has already confirmed BRGM’s results, with one sample yielding 276 small diamonds from nearly 22 kg of material.

An airborne survey shows the signature of a deep-seated, pipe-like, intrusive body. The company will use the resources and services of parent company Golden Star Resources (TSE), which owns 70%, to confirm whether the structure is diamond-bearing.