Buffalo exploring at Calling Lake, Chain Lakes and New Claymore's Varlaam property
[-long NR-]
New Claymore Resources Ltd NCS
Shares issued 4,165,775 1999-03-15 close $0.38
Monday Mar 15 1999
See Buffalo Diamonds Ltd (BUFD.U) News Release
Mr. Chet Idziszek reports
Exploration is progressing on the company's Calling Lake, Varlaam and
Chain Lakes diamond properties in Alberta. The Calling Lake and Chain
Lakes properties, covering 77,000 and 93,000 hectares respectively, are
100-per-cent-owned by the company. The company also has an option
from New Claymore Resources to acquire up to a 70 per cent interest in
the Varlaam property (100,000 hectares) which is contiguous with the
Calling Lake property.
A total of 71 overburden auger holes have now been completed on the
Calling Lake property, the majority of the holes were completed up ice
from the discovery site of a gem quality macrodiamond in a till sample
collected from the Calling River East target area. Surface sampling from
this area has also produced diamond indicator minerals (chromites and
picroilmenites) with exceptional chemistry. Auger holes were also
completed in the Calling Lake South, Calling Lake Southeast and two
other previously reported target areas.
In January of this year, Christopher Campbell of Intrepid Geophysics
was contacted to complete a detailed interpretation of last year's Calling
Lake airborne geophysical surveys and to prioritize the initial 124
magnetic and 55 resistivity anomalies initially identified. Preliminary
results of this interpretation have identified approximately 30 moderate
to high priority kimberlite targets, some with coincident magnetic and
resistivity signatures. A number of these moderate to high priority
geophysical targets are associated with each of the target areas. The
remaining previously identified geophysical anomalies have either been
attributed to culture or classified as lower priority targets. The
continuing diamond indicator mineral survey on the property will be
used to further prioritize all geophysical anomalies. If a kimberlite is
identified on the property, all levels of airborne geophysical anomalies
with associated diamond indicator minerals will become important drill
targets.
A detailed interpretation of diamond indicator mineral geochemistry has
been completed by two independent sources: Mike Dufresne of Apex
Geoscience and Dr. Bruce Jago of Lakefield Research Ltd. This work
confirms the excellent diamond bearing kimberlite potential of the
Calling Lake property. In addition to the gem quality macrodiamond
recovered from the Calling River East target area, the quantity,
chemistry and varieties of diamond indicator minerals recovered from
extensive stream sediment and glacial till sampling are highly indicative
of the proximal presence of diamond-bearing kimberlite or lamproite.
Some of the most significant results from the diamond indicator mineral
geochemistry from the Calling River East target area are as follows:
Magnesium rich picroilmenites strongly enriched in chromium (up to
4.46 per cent Cr2O3) have been recovered from the Calling River East
target area. These have likely been derived from diamond bearing
mantle. On the basis of their unique magnesium and chromium content,
picroilmenites from five separate sample sites suggest the source rock
is not only a kimberlite, but a kimberlite with high-grade diamond
bearing potential. The MgO-rich and FeO-poor nature of these
picroilmenites is an excellent indication of high diamond preservation
potential of the transporting kimberlitic magmas.
In addition, a diamond inclusion quality chromite along with several
near diamond inclusion quality chromites have been recovered from
glacial till and stream sediment samples in the Calling River East target
area. The diamond inclusion quality chromite recovered from a glacial
till sample is described as best diamond inclusion quality chromite
reported in Alberta to date. Diamond inclusion quality chromite has a
very restricted range of chemistry characterized by a high average
chromium content with moderate levels of magnesium. The source of
these chromites is almost exclusively chromite harzburgite, one of the
three principal diamond bearing source rocks in the upper mantle. For
a kimberlite to have significant diamond bearing potential, the
kimberlitic magma must have incorporated at least one of the three
principal diamond bearing source rocks from the upper mantle -
eclogite, garnet harzburgite or chromite harzburgite.
Due to the large amount of oxide minerals being recovered from the
heavy mineral concentrates of surface samples, usually less than 10
per cent of the oxide concentrate is examined for diamond indicator
minerals (picroilmenites and chromites). It is, therefore, reasonable to
expect that the final recovered diamond indicator oxide mineral counts
will be greater once the remaining oxide concentrates have been
picked.
The exceptional diamond indicator mineral results from surface
sampling in the Calling River East target area are concentrated along a
six kilometre stretch of the Calling River. Over 25 high to low priority
airborne geophysical anomalies have been identified between this
stretch of the Calling River and the northern property boundary. Auger
holes were completed at 500 metre spacing along six east-west lines
testing an area 12 kilometres up ice from the macrodiamond sample site
and the Calling River. The purpose of the auger sampling program was to
trace the dispersion of diamond indicator minerals back to a kimberlitic
source, rather than specifically test geophysical anomalies in bedrock.
Based on auger sampling to date, an average overburden depth of 35 to
40 metres can be inferred for large portions of Calling River East.
The Calling Lake South and Calling Lake South East target areas are now
considered one larger target area at which is inferred a potential
kimberlite source or sources within Calling Lake that is separate from
the potential kimberlite source at the Calling River East target area. Four
overburden auger holes have been completed south and southeast of
Calling Lake to determine the distribution of diamond indicator minerals
throughout a stratigraphic section in the overburden. Random sampling
of beach sands along the southern shoreline of Calling Lake has
produced over 100 pyrope garnets including six previously reported G10
(Gurney's) sub-calcic Cr pyrope garnets (indicative of diamond bearing
garnet harzburgite) and an excellent population of diamond inclusion
quality eclogitic garnets (indicative of diamond bearing eclogite).
Recently, three beach sediment samples collected from the southwest
shoreline late in 1998 were processed for diamond indicator mineral
analyses and produced an extraordinary quantity (three to five kilograms)
of heavy mineral concentrate. Typically heavy mineral concentrates
from stream or beach sediment samples have been in the order of 100 to
250 grams, from a 25 kg sample. About 200 grains of each of these
concentrates have been picked producing as many as 27 silicate
indicator minerals (pyrope garnets, chrome diopside) from
approximately 5 per cent or less of the concentrates. It is likely that
these three samples, when completely examined, may yield as many as
200 pyrope garnets. This quantity of pyrope garnets is typically only
observed within a few hundred metres of a kimberlite pipe. The presence
of G10 (Gurney's) garnets and other kimberlitic indicator minerals along
the south shoreline of Calling Lake strongly suggests one or multiple
diamond bearing kimberlites in or proximal to the lake. Most of Calling
Lake is within the Varlaam property boundary and has not received
airborne geophysical coverage. The company will start a fixed wing
airborne magnetic survey over the Varlaam property and portions of
the Calling Lake Property within the next week.
Target areas 1 and 3 on the Calling Lake property were also tested with
the overburden auger rig. Indicator mineral results from all auger holes
are pending. Results from the first holes of this program are expected in
early April 1999.
Diamond indicator results have been received for 90 of the 277 glacial
fill samples collected from the Chain Lakes property. Possible pyrope
garnets, chrome diopsides, eclogitic garnets, olivine, chromite and
picroilmenite have been identified visually in the majority of samples.
Drill cuttings from a drill hole completed in 1997 on the Chain Lakes
property was also submitted to Lakefield Research for diamond
indicator analysis. A total of 54 indicator minerals were produced
including pyrope garnets, eclogitic garnets, chrome diopside,
picroilmenite, chromite, and olivine. Since the drill hole penetrated a
thin veneer of overburden and bedrock, the significance of the diamond
indicator mineral results from the drill cuttings remains to be
determined. Once all surface sampling results have been received, a
detailed interpretation of the airborne data will be used to establish
priority areas for followup exploration.
(c) Copyright 1999 Canjex Publishing Ltd.
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