Trivalence tests K-23 at depth

With a positive audit in hand, Trivalence Mining (TMI-V) is proceeding to test the K-23 kimberlite at depth.

The pipe is on the 85%-held Aredor concession in Guinea, 1.1 km upstream from the BAI-4 alluvial block. That block, one of six being mined for alluvial diamonds, hosts 312,569 tonnes grading 0.11 carat per tonne.

MPH Consulting of South Africa tested 12,065 tonnes of weathered kimberlite dug from three trenches overlying the kimberlite body. In all, 484.26 carats were liberated from the sample for an average grade of 4.01 carats per tonne. However, when moisture and the loss of of smaller (less-than-2-mm) stones are taken into account, the grade increases to 0.074 carat per tonne.

Results include:

– 142.19 carats from 3,824 tonnes (0.037 carat per wet tonne, or 0.069 carat per dry tonne) in trench A;

– 195.84 carats from 4,202 tonnes (0.047 carat per wet tonne, or 0.087 carat per dry tonne) in trench B; and

– 146.23 carats from 4,039 tonnes (0.036 carat per wet tonne, or 0.067 carat per dry tonne) in trench C.

Of the total, 161.39 carats were classified as gems, 257.05 carats as industrials and 62.52 carats as boarts (a type of industrial diamond). The gems, in turn, were valued at US$181.39 per carat by the Bureau National d’Expertise (BNE) in Conakry, Guinea, whereas the industrial and boart stones were priced at US$29.32 per carat.

Trivalence subsequently sold 509.32 carats of the gem-quality and industrial diamonds for US$80,000. The parcel included 90.88 carats picked from 6,600 tonnes that were dug during preliminary trenching. The boart stones, totalling 71.62 carats, were not sold, as the company considers them valueless.

The drill program will total 2,000 metres and focus on delineating the shape and phases of the kimberlite.

Meanwhile, a revised estimate pegs Aredor’s alluvial resources at 19.1 million tonnes grading 0.069 carat per tonne, sufficient for another 10 years of production at current levels. The resource is classified as indicated and inferred, and Trivalence notes that several waterways on the concession remain untested.

In the three months ended March 31, Aredor produced 10,450 carats, bringing to 28,390 carats the volume produced in the nine months ended that day. Since May 1996, the mine has produced 100,487 carats from 2 million tonnes for an average recovered grade of 0.05 carat per tonne.