(part2)The Northern Miner Volume 85 Number 46 January 10-16, 2000
A 1,900-metre drill program tested 14 targets on the Hilltop property in the early part of the year, but no kimberlite was intersected. The
323,727-acre project adjoins the southwestern corner of the Camsell Lake property and includes 90,161 acres of scattered claim blocks
comprising the Cache property, in which SouthernEra and Vaaldiam Resources (VRL-V) together hold a 20% interest.
Diamondex collected 634 till samples from the Hilltop property and an additional 229 samples from the Cache property during the summer. The
company concentrated its efforts on an anomalous area where one micro was recovered in 1998. Sampling has revealed a
southwesterly-trending 7-by-1.5-km area of elevated indicator mineral counts on the Hilltop property. A 10-hole program of 1,600 metres is
planned for early 2000.
Back Lake SouthernEra discovered the likely source of diamond-bearing kimberlite boulders found near the shore of Munn Lake at the Back
Lake project, 50 km northeast of Snap Lake. The Yuryi kimberlite float material was discovered in the summer of 1997. A 581.3-kg sample of
the boulder material yielded 62 macros and 164 micros.
During last spring's drilling, Kennecott encountered a 0.25-to-12-metre-thick kimberlite sill in an area associated with a lake-bottom depression.
A 42-kg composite sample returned 2 macros and 12 micros.
Partners Island-Arc Resources (IAR-V) and Kalahari Resources (KLA-V) elected to fund a follow-up, land-based 14-hole program designed to
test the structure along strike. The program confirmed that the sill extends a further 950 metres southeast of Munn Lake for an overall strike
length of 1.3 km. The land-based portion of the sill ranges in thickness from 0.06 to 1.86 metres. SouthernEra no longer considers the sill a
viable target, owing to its narrow thickness. Exploration of other targets at Back Lake will continue this spring.
The Back Lake project is held 70% by SouthernEra; the remaining interest is carried, with Kalahari holding 19.38% and Island-Arc owning
10.62%. Kalahari and Island-Arc can earn an additional joint 10% working interest by spending $750,000 in exploration. To date, the two have
earned a further joint 5%.
At the Yamba Lake joint venture, 46 km north of the Ekati mine, SouthernEra discovered a new narrow kimberlite body, dubbed S-141.
The S-141 discovery hole was collared at minus 45¡ into an elongated land-based magnetic low, 3 km southeast of the Ptarmigan pipe. A
14.7-metre-long interval of kimberlite was intersected at a down-hole depth of 62-76.7 metres. One microdiamond was recovered from 40.5 kg
of kimberlite sample.
SouthernEra holds a 51% interest in the Yamba Lake joint venture, with Tanqueray Resources (TQY-V) and Mill City International (MIY-V) each
holding 19%; Cypango Ventures (CAV-V) owns the remaining 11%.
Previous work has identified six kimberlite pipes, including Ptarmigan and T-10. SouthernEra re-drilled Ptarmigan with one hole, and the T-10
pipe, with three. No diamonds were recovered from a 61.8-kg sample of the Ptarmigan pipe, whereas T-10 yielded 1 macro and 2 micros from
86.2 kg of kimberlite. This correlates poorly with past recoveries of 6 macros and 62 micros from 83.6 kg, as reported by Cypango in 1997.
SouthernEra plans to drill-test several high-priority geophysical targets at Yamba Lake this spring.
Kennady Lake Last winter, Monopros, the Canadian exploration arm of De Beers, collected bulk drill samples from a cluster of four pipes at
Kennady Lake in the Northwest Territories (5034, Hearne, Tuzo and Tesla). The effort was part of a $14-million program designed to recover
enough diamonds to determine the grade and value of each pipe.
Situated 120 km southeast of Lac de Gras, Kennady Lake comprises a portion of the AK-CJ properties, in which Monopros can earn up to a
60% interest by advancing the project to production. Mountain Province Mining (MPV-T) is carried to a 36% interest, whereas partner Camphor
Ventures (CFV-V) is carried to 4%.
A 609-tonne sample from the 5034 pipe yielded 1,044 carats of diamonds above a commercial-size, 1.5-mm square-mesh cutoff. The 1999
bulk sample included 42 stones weighing greater than 1 carat. The three largest diamonds recovered weighed 10, 4.9 and 4.85 carats. Based
on these results, together with previous mini-bulk sample and micro results, De Beers has modeled a kimberlite resource of 12 million tonnes
grading 1.64 carats per tonne to a depth of 300 metres. The 5034 diamonds are worth an average of US$63 per carat, which translates into an
implied value of US$103.50 per tonne.
De Beers recovered 64 carats of diamonds from 184 tonnes of drill sample from the Tesla pipe for an indicated grade of 0.35 carat per tonne
(compared with the previous estimate of 0.37 carat). The largest diamond recovered weighed 2.7 carats. Valuations were not available at
presstime, though previous valuations made on the 1998 mini-bulk test sample averaged US$96 per carat. Tesla is the smallest of the four
pipes sampled, with a revised resource estimate of 4.6 million tonnes.
The Hearne pipe hosts 6.9 million tonnes to a depth of 300 metres. A 469-tonne bulk sample yielded 846 carats for an implied grade of 1.8
carats per tonne. The largest diamonds recovered were 3.7 and 3.16 carats. In total, 40 stones weighed greater than 1 carat. Diamond
valuations are pending. Based on the 1998 test samples, Hearne was modeled to grade 2.33 carats per tonne at US$44 per carat.
The resource in the Tuzo pipe increased to 15.3 million tonnes to a 360-metre depth from an earlier estimate of 9 million tonnes to 300 metres.
In total, 533 carats were recovered from a 523-tonne bulk-sample, giving an indicated grade of 1.02 carats per tonne. Twenty diamonds
weighed in excess of 1 carat, the largest being 3.38 carats. Tuzo was previously modeled to grade 2.2 carats per tonne at US$68 per carat.
Revised valuations for the Hearne body are expected shortly, with those for the Tuzo pipe to follow.
Wallace pipe Last spring, Monopros discovered a fifth pipe, called Wallace, between the Hearne and 5034 kimberlites. The discovery hole
yielded 9 macros and 72 micros from 40 kg of kimberlite. Monopros believes the maximum dimension of the pipe is unlikely to exceed 60
metres. A second body of kimberlite was intersected by drilling 150 metres northeast of Wallace and 150 metres southwest of the 5034 pipe.
An 80-kg sample returned 5 macros and 284 micros. Monopros is unsure whether this new kimberlite represents a new body, or if it is an
elongated continuation of the Wallace pipe.
Monopros reopened the Kennady Lake camp in November 1999 and has resumed exploration drilling on the Faraday kimberlite body,
discovered last spring 12 km northeast of the Kennady lake cluster. An angled hole intersected 34 metres of kimberlite between 38 and 72
metres of depth, giving a horizontal projection of 22 metres. A 40-kg sample yielded 6 macros and 82 micros. A second hole, collared nearby,
intersected successive narrow intervals of kimberlite, varying from 2 to 7 metres in thickness.
Also in November, Monopros bought a 51% interest in a 3% gross overriding royalty against production from the AK-CJ properties held by
Mountain Province and Camphor. In return, it paid $2.5 million.
Immediately south of Kennady Lake are LA1-25 claims, where Gerle Gold (GGL-V) drill-tested four targets in Blob Lake, plus one target on the
southern shore of the lake and one at Fox Lake, 2 km to the northwest. The targets were a combination of geophysical and lake-sediment
geochemical anomalies. No kimberlite was intersected.
The LA1-25 claims comprise part of the Doyle Lake project, a 60-40 joint venture between Monopros and Gerle.
Formed through the amalgamation of Lytton Minerals and New Indigo Resources, Tahera (TAH-T) continues to advance its wholly owned
Jericho project in Nunavut, 420 km northeast of Yellowknife and 170 km northeast of Ekati. A prefeasibility study by SRK Consulting indicates
that a proposed open-pit operation on the land-based JD-1 pipe could produce 2.7 million carats annually over an 8-year mine life, based on a
processing rate of 300,000 tonnes per year. Capital costs are estimated at $40.3 million.
The study examined two options for the location of the proposed diamond recovery plant, favouring the construction of a 50-tonne-per-hour plant
at the site of the Lupin gold mine, subject to the implementation of the terms of a 1996 agreement with mine owner Echo Bay Mines (ECO-T).
Current plans call for seasonal open-pit mining of JD-1 using a contractor, and trucking the kimberlite ore during the winter months along an ice
road to the Lupin site, 28 km to the southeast. The processing plant would treat the ore year-round.
The JD-1 pipe is estimated to contain a geological resource of 6.5 million tonnes averaging 0.82 carat per tonne. SRK estimates a minable,
open-pit resource of 2.3 million tonnes grading 1.13 carats per tonne, worth an estimated US$65 per carat ($96 per carat), or US$73.45 per
tonne ($108.48 per tonne). Operating costs are pegged at $63 per tonne. The prefeasibility study forecasts an internal rate-of-return of 33.2%
and payback over two years.
A 9,400-tonne underground bulk-sample collected across three phases of the pipe in 1996 yielded 10,539 carats of diamonds. The recovered
stones were all larger than 1 mm and included a 40-carat stone. The largest gem-quality diamond weighed 23.89 carats.
A second pipe, JD-3, lies under a small lake, 7 km west of JD-1, and carries an inferred resource of 10.5 million tonnes to a depth of 300
metres. A preliminary grade of 0.36 carat per tonne is based on the recovery of 16.6 carats of stones from 46.6 tonnes of drill samples. The
largest recovered stone weighed 3.6 carats.
The once-promising Contwoyto-1 kimberlite, discovered in the fall of 1998 about 38 km southeast of JD-1, was put on the back burner after
further sampling showed the pipe to be of low grade. A 50.1-tonne mini-bulk drill sample returned 13.6 carats for an implied grade of 0.27 carat
per tonne.
In a separate exploration campaign, Kennecott is entering the fourth year of a joint venture with Tahera. Kennecott can earn a half-interest in the
Ice, Rocking Horse and Hood River properties by spending $50 million by 2008. The company has spent $14 million to date.
During the spring 1999 drilling program, Kennecott discovered the Vega kimberlite on the Ice property and the Altair kimberlite on the Rocking
Horse claims. Tahera says micro analysis suggests the kimberlites are not economic. Kennecott has budgeted $2.5 million for further
exploration on the joint venture claims in 2000.
Ashton Ashton Mining of Canada (ACA-T) conducted heavy mineral sampling programs during the summer on the Star, Ric, Roc, Bel and Con
properties in the Northwestern Territories and Nunavut. The company holds interests in some 2,200 sq. km of ground in the Slave Regional,
Lupin and CR-LL joint ventures. On the 56%-held Star property, 180 km southwest of Ekati, sampling further defined a mineral indicator train
originating from the junction of three lakes. A ground geophysical survey will be conducted this winter, with drilling to follow. Pure Gold Minerals
(pug-t) holds a 24% stake in the property and Tenajon Resources (TJS-V) owns 20%.
Field investigations of anomalous 1998 sample results on the Ric property, 250 km northwest of Ekati in Nunavut, led to the discovery of a
kimberlite named Hydra. The body outcrops on a lake shore and is believed to extend under the lake. If a recent airborne survey identifies
magnetic targets, or the results of micro tests are favourable, a drilling program will be conducted this winter. Ashton holds a 81.8% interest in
Ric, with the remainder held by Pure Gold.
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