JML targets Marten River for diamond potential

Spun off from Mustang Minerals (YMU-V), newly listed JML Resources (JJJ-V) is targeting the diamond potential of the Marten River area, near North Bay, Ont.

The project comprises more than 2,400 claims covering 390 sq. km, within a 3,600-sq.-km area. Included are 462 claims which are subject to a 50-50 joint venture with Falconbridge (FL-T).

This area is on strike with where Mustang is exploring for platinum group metals (PGMs), but, based on reports by Ronald Sage of the Ontario Geological Survey, Mustang has determined that the flavour of the Marten River area is more diamonds than PGMs.

Mustang’s vice-president of exploration, Ken Lapierre, who is also president of JML, says Mustang carried out its own due diligence and took four “quick” heavy mineral samples from the area, including two beach sand and two till samples. Processed by Lakefield Research, the samples yielded 227 kimberlite indicator mineral grains, including 163 grains of garnets dominated by G9 lherzolite garnet. Using John Gurney’s classification scheme, about 10% of the garnets were interpreted to be sub-calcic G10 pyropes derived from a potentially diamondiferous harzburgitic parentage.

The Marten River area is in the Lake Timiskaming structural belt, south of weakly diamondiferous kimberlites in the Kirkland Lake and New Liskeard areas.

Between 1979 and 1990, Falconbridge searched for diamonds across eastern North America. Follow-up work focused on some 10,000 sq. km in central Ontario, east of Sudbury and south of Cobalt, as well as a few townships in Quebec. In the Marten River area, Falconbridge collected 1,253 heavy mineral samples and flew airborne geophysical surveys. A total of 78% of the samples indicated economic potential, with individual samples containing up to 200 kimberlite indicator mineral grains.

However, much of the area was unavailable for staking as a result of a native land caution, which was not lifted until 1996. By then, Falco had abandoned diamond exploration, though, in 2000, the major brought in MPH Consulting to compile the Marten River diamond data, and a land position was staked.

In September 2001, Mustang formed a joint venture with Falconbridge whereby in order to earn a half-interest in certain claims, it must pay $100,000 cash and issue 100,000 shares over 18 months. Mustang must also reimburse Falconbridge for $100,000 in staking and data compilation costs.

The joint venture covers 462 claims in 33 discrete blocks spread over 14 townships. The claim blocks cover some 70 priority aeromagnetic targets selected on the basis of their proximity to indicator mineral samples.

Mustang subsequently assigned all of its diamond interests to JML Resources, a wholly owned subsidiary. JML was publicly listed in mid-February of this year. The initial offering of 20 units and 15 flow-through shares raised $700,000, with Jennings Capital acting as agent. Shareholders of Mustang received a share dividend of one JML share for every five shares held. JML has 8.5 million shares outstanding, or 10.5 million fully diluted.

Encouraging targets

“We have a wonderful database now, on top of the work that we’ve done over the past two summers,” Lapierre tells The Northern Miner. “We’ve taken close to 600 till samples and flown more than 7,500 line km of airborne geophysics. As a result, we’ve got some nice targets with dispersion trains.”

To date, 373 of 589 regional till samples have been analyzed for indicator minerals. More than 92% of the samples are positive, with counts of up to 334 mineral grains per sample. The presence of forsterite-bearing olivine and kelyphite-coated garnets suggests a nearby kimberlite source.

Microprobe analysis has been conducted on 44 samples containing 1,008 grains. The data sheets and mineralogy plots indicate a kimberlitic source for garnet, chromite, ilmenite and chrome-diopside. However, the number of recovered G10 garnets is considered relatively low.

Watts, Griffis & McOuat state that Mustang’s indicator mineral results, when compared with the chemistry published for 23 pipes in the Lake Timiskaming structural zone, is consistent with those noted for many of the kimberlites in this belt. A plot of the garnet chemistry shows that the Marten River project has more G10 garnets than currently reported for De Beers‘ Victor project in the James Bay Lowlands. Lapierre says G10s recovered from the Marten River area average a chrome content of about 6-7%.

JML intends to process the remaining till samples in preparation for going back to the field next summer to follow up on four of five specific target areas.