Rhonda, Aaron secretive about plans

Joint venture partners Rhonda Mining (ASE) and Aaron Oil (ASE) may or may not have started to drill-test a diamond target this month on their Fort a la Corne property near Prince Albert, Sask.

Peter Gummer, president of Rhonda, said the companies have put a lid on information coming out of their properties in the area. Although Rhonda previously stated it intended to begin drilling this month, Gummer said he won’t disclose what the companies’ current exploration plans include. Gummer said secrecy is necessary to prevent other diamond explorers in the area from gaining any advantage. He said the company is playing the same information game as the major mining companies, which are typically tight-lipped about their activities.

In a previous interview with The Northern Miner, Gummer noted that the exploration play in the area is unique in that the companies are not looking for a diamond-bearing kimberlite stock, the primary target in the Northwest Territories diamond rush.

Gummer said the principal target is an Argyle-type deposit, representing the volcanic sedimentary basin formed around a volcanic pipe at the bottom of a shallow sea.

Gummer said the sedimentary basin would typically be formed from a number of separate volcanic events, each settling out as a layer of kimberlitic sediment over a large area around one or more kimberlite pipes. The model would have one or more of these events depositing diamond-bearing kimberlite, blanket-like, over a large area. Gummer said the model has obvious tonnage potential, lending itself to low-cost open-pit mining. Gummer also said preserved diamond-bearing sedimentary basins are rare, with the majority of world diamond production coming from eroded pipes. Rhonda has located a number of buried boulders containing diamond-bearing kimberlitic tuffs and interbedded sediments on nearby ground, leading the company to conclude that a large volcanic source is in the area. Of primary interest to Rhonda and Aaron at Fort a la Corne is an exploration program currently under way on ground to the south of the property. A unit of De Beers is earning a 30% interest in the ground from owners Cameco (TSE) and Uranerz Exploration and Mining, although details of the program and results have not been released.