THE DIAMOND PAGE — Four rigs turning on AK property

A 100-tonne mini-bulk sample is being extracted from the 5034 kimberlite pipe at the AK property in the Northwest Territories.

A joint venture, the AK is held 50% by Mountain Province Mining (VSE), 40% by Glenmore Highlands (ASE) and 10% by Camphor Ventures (VSE).

Preliminary processing of a portion of a 10-tonne batch of kimberlite has revealed a gem-quality diamond weighing 1.2 carats, as well as six diamonds weighing about 0.25 carat each.

Of the four rigs on site, two are being used to collect the bulk sample, a third is delineating the southern portion of the kimberlite, and the fourth is drill-testing exploration targets.

In the meantime, an additional 1,499.1 kg of drill core have been processed by caustic dissolution. While macro and microdiamond counts were unavailable, Glenmore says the diamond recovery and grades remain consistent. Based on the 5,836.68 kg processed to date, the macrodiamonds are reported to grade 7.565 carats per tonne, compared with a previous estimate of 6.831 carats.

The diamonds larger than 1 mm grade 5.369 carats per tonne, while those larger than 2 mm grade 1.831 carats. Included in the results are a 0.9-carat stone and several colored diamonds.

The 5034 kimberlite is estimated to contain 18.3 million tonnes to a depth of 300 metres.