Seahawk pulls emeralds from core

Infill drilling by Seahawk Minerals (SKM-V) has returned two large stones, each weighing 75 carats, from the Piteiras emerald property in Brazil.

The company intercepted the walnut-sized stones in a 2.8-metre zone of phlogopite schist. The first stone measured 35 by 21 by 9 mm, whereas the second measured 27 by 19 by 17 mm.

The emerald-bearing interval from hole 21 also contained additional emerald fragments. It was intersected at a depth of 161 metres in the Coqueiro zone.

Seahawk, which owns a 70% stake in the 312.6-ha project, northeast of Belo Horizonte, began drilling Coqueiro earlier in the year as part of an infill program between 100-metre stepouts.

To date, the company has drilled more than 25 holes, six of which encountered emeralds. Seahawk has identified the zone over a strike of 400 metres and a width of 200 metres. The junior is also exploring a potentially emerald-bearing zone called Gervasio, which is coincident with a large chromium anomaly.

A prefeasibility study of Coqueiro, completed earlier in 1999, concluded that an underground mine could be constructed for as little as US$4.6 million.