Pele Mountain finds five new showings

Junior Pele Mountain Resources (YPN-V) has uncovered five new diamond showings at its Festival property near Wawa, Ont.

The showings are hosted by heterolithic breccia.

Caustic fusion of five small samples returned a total of 169 diamonds. Results are as follows:

• Cristal — a 15-kg sample yielded 56 microdiamonds and 8 macrodiamonds;
• Krug — a 20.1-kg sample returned 51 micros and 4 macros;
• B-1 — a 32-kg sample returned 30 micros and 1 macro;
• Perch East — a 29-kg sample returned 13 micros; and
• Perch West — a 23.5-kg sample returned 6 micros.

All but one of the diamond-bearing breccia samples were collected from bedrock. The Cristal sample was derived from one of more than 15 angular, closely spaced boulders, or subcrop of breccia facies, which range up to several metres in size.

The Cristal showing is located about 1.5 km north-northwest (opposite to the direction of glacial ice flow) of Band-Ore‘s (BAN-T) diamondiferous Area E. Band-Ore recently tracked down the source of diamondiferous boulders in Area E to a coarse-grained, xenolith-rich diatreme breccia, which lies within 5 metres of the boulders.

Exploration at Festival continues. The property also hosts the Destiny, P.C. and Jubilee diamond showings.

Earlier this year, a 7.5-tonne bulk sample of weathered and unweathered xenolith-bearing lamprophyre bedrock from Destiny yielded 55 macros. The stones ranged in size from 0.51 mm to 2.65 mm. The largest stone measured 2.65 mm by 2.39 mm by 2.09 mm and weighed 0.1 carat. Most of the diamonds were white and transparent.

The P.C. and Jubilee showings have also returned some macros.

A 32-kg sample of weathered outcrop from P.C. (600 metres west of Destiny) returned nine diamonds, including two macros. Seven of the stones are believed to be fragments of larger stones.

Last summer, 4 km to the southeast of Destiny, Pele recovered a yellow macrodiamond from the Jubilee showing. Follow-up samples failed to yield any diamonds.

In March, Kennecott Canada Exploration, the Canadian arm of London-based Rio Tinto (RTP-N), advised Pele that it would not exercise its right to negotiate a joint-venture agreement at Festival.