THE DIAMOND PAGE — Ashton Mining picking up pace on its

Diamond exploration in Canada’s North may be dominated by the two projects advanced by Kennecott and BHP Minerals Canada, but another major is positioning itself for increased activity.

Ashton Mining of Canada (TSE) has entered an option and joint-venture agreement with Pure Gold Resources (VSE) and Tenajon Resources (VSE) covering 17,400 hectares in the Upper Carp Lake region of the Northwest Territories. The property, known as Cross, is 130 km northeast of Yellowknife and 30 km west of the Lupin mine’s winter road.

Ashton intends to exercise a “buy-back” clause, which would enable it to acquire half of the project; the remainder would be held equally by Tenajon and Pure Gold. Ashton also has the option to earn a further 1% from Pure Gold’s interest.

Tenajon President Donald McLeod says the potential of the property was recognized this year, as geologists from Ashton and Pure Gold performed extensive sampling. This work identified several discrete fans of kimberlitic indicator minerals consisting of pyrope garnet, chromite and picro-ilmenite. The fans were traced back to potential sources, coinciding with lakes. Ashton is evaluating results from its 1993 program at Cross Lake, and at other joint-ventured projects in the Territories. Drilling on the Cross property is expected to begin in the new year.

Pure Gold expects other areas covered by the Ashton-Pure Gold joint venture, such as the Humpy and Dick claims, will be drilled early next year, depending on weather conditions.

Alberta

* Northside Resources (ASE) has begun auger drilling on its Whitecourt-Niton property, west of Edmonton.

The property contains magnetic anomalies with coincident indicator mineral dispersion trains.

* Marum Resources (ASE) plans to sample kimberlitic diatremes on its 17,400-hectare joint-venture property known as Pinhorn, near the Montana border. Several 200-500-kg samples will be collected and analyzed for indicator minerals and diamonds.

The company has also contracted a 1,000-line-km airborne magnetic and electromagnetic survey to search for additional pipes on the property. Ontario and Quebec

* Till geochemistry is being performed on Charlim Explorations’ (VSE) Temiscamingue property in northwestern Quebec. The sampling is being carried out to evaluate several known circular magnetic anomalies.

KWG Resources (ME) can earn a half interest in the project by spending $400,000 on exploration.

United States

* Golconda Resources (ASE) has begun drilling on its project in Idaho. The work is intended to evaluate the diamond-bearing potential of several known lamproitic dykes.

Africa

* Africa was in the news last week, as several kimberlite discoveries were reported by Canadian juniors active there.

Argosy Mining (VSE) uncovered two new kimberlites, 10 km apart, at its Hwange project in western Zimbabwe. The program is a joint venture managed by Reunion Mining, which in turn is held 46.3% by Toronto-based Caledonia Mining (TSE).

Argosy and partners can earn up to half of the joint venture by spending US$6.5 million on exploration and development over four years. The latest discoveries, named K10 and K11, resulted from Reunion’s test-pitting program. Kimberlite samples from the exploratory pits will be processed and concentrated at the joint venture’s lab in Zimbabwe for grain-picking of indicator minerals and microprobe analysis. A composite sample will be prepared for follow-up microdiamond analysis. “Because the joint venture has its own lab we should know fairly shortly if K10 and K11 are likely to be barren or diamondiferous,” said Argosy President Yale Simpson.

The pipes, each described as at least 3 hectares in size, lie within the Mlibizi cluster investigated by De Beers in the early 1970s. The South African giant carried out bulk sampling on its prospect and is reported to have found four diamonds totaling 0.0043 carats. The prospect was then abandoned as uneconomic. Simpson said K10 and K11 are new discoveries, previously unexplored by De Beers.

* Elsewhere on that continent, exploration licences covering 6,767 sq. km in central Botswana have been awarded to TNK Resources (CDN).

The area, known as the Gope Prospect, is next to the diamondiferous Gope 25 kimberlite pipe of De Beers, which is currently being bulk-sampled. These concessions lie midway between the Orapa and Jwaneng diamond mines and are localized along a major northeast-trending structure. In the southern portion are at least three known kimberlite pipes, two of which contain microdiamonds. A 3-year exploration program has begun.