Partners plan drilling

A budget of $4.8 million has been approved by the Fort la Corne joint-venture partners for further drilling and evaluation of three kimberlite bodies at the Saskatchewan project.

Partners De Beers Canada Exploration and Kensington Resources (KRT-V) welcome the return of Cameco (CCO-T) as a funding contributor for this round of drilling, to be conducted in the summer and fall. The Fort la Corne project comprises 255 sq. km east of Price Albert and contains 69 confirmed kimberlites. Forty-nine of the bodies are diamondiferous, and 34 have yielded stones larger than 1 mm in at least one dimension. De Beers and Kensington each hold a 42.25% stake, whereas Cameco and its wholly owned subsidiary, UEM, hold the remaining 15.5%.

A 2-phase approach is planned for the 2001 program. Kimberlites 141, 140 and 150 will be further tested with up to 16 core holes to define zonation and help develop the geological model for each body. The data obtained from this phase of drilling will be used to plot the sites of a program of large-diameter, reverse-circulation (RC) drilling. Mini-bulk samples will be collected from eight RC holes into kimberlite 141 in order to recover a larger parcel of diamonds for valuation.

Based on a limited parcel of stones weighing 21.06 carats, which were recovered from a 251.8-tonne mini-bulk sample taken last year from kimberlite 141, De Beers modelled a grade of 18 carats per 100 tonnes, with a best-fit value of US$153 per carat, or US$28 per tonne. The 141 body is estimated to contain 395 million tonnes of kimberlite.

Kimberlite 150 is another high-priority target, and will be tested with two large-diameter RC holes. The body has a predicted grade of 16 carats per 100 tonnes and shows good potential for larger diamonds.

De Beers Canada is a subsidiary of South African-based De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBRSY-Q).