Here is what the home page used to say, but those things are usually written by promoters and other masters of the forward looking statement. #1 in the angler's handbook: tie your fly so that it looks more attractive than the real thing. You have to watch out for hyperbolic statements.
A lot of things may also have changed by now. The home page has been updated last summer.
"Exploration by Kensington commenced in the summer of 1995 with the drilling of eight large diameter holes. After receipt of the 1995 diamond results, kimberlite 145, with an indicated grade of 0.556 cts/tonne, an estimated contained resource of in excess of 200 million tonnes, and stone values of up to US $184/carat, emerged as a potentially economic diamond deposit. Kensington commissioned a scoping study of Fort a la Corne based on a minimum production rate of 14 million tonnes per year. Given the tremendous diamond resources available at Fort a la Corne, the economics of such large scale production could result in spectacular returns for decades of operation, even at very low diamond grades. Modern infrastructure and accessibility of the Fort a la Corne kimberlites would also ensure the lowest costs of operating. For example, a reserve the size of kimberlite body 145 could be mined and processed for approximately $15/t after an initial capital outlay of $500 - 600 million."
The following article is from May 1997. Similar versions were published in several news papers. I don't think that 2 million drilling program has happened yet. Most of the exploration in the area stopped around that time.
HOPES FOR DIAMOND FIND DIM
PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. - A Saskatoon company that has been searching for diamonds east of here since 1988 has decided against spending more cash to drill this year.
Uranerz Exploration and Mining Ltd. isn't as optimistic as it once was about unearthing diamonds at Fort a la Corne, about 70 kilometres east of Prince Albert, said spokesman Al Shypyth.
"Uranerz was the discoverer and has been there nine years. For us, while it continues to be very interesting geologically, based on results to date, we're not convinced of the potential," he said Monday. "There have always been enough results to keep our interest, but the results have never been enough to think it's an economic discovery yet."
Uranerz will remain as project operator, although its stake in the joint venture will fall to 10 per cent from 25 per cent.
The other partners, Cameco, Monopros and Kensington Resources Ltd., will spend about $2 million on exploratory drilling in 1997.
Twenty-five companies are expected to spend about $4 million exploring Saskatchewan for diamonds this year, down 64 per cent from a peak of $11 million in 1993. Since 1988, mining firms have spent $42 million in hopes of developing an economic mine.
The flurry of activity began after Monopros, the Canadian subsidiary of diamond giant De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd., began sampling a gravel pit near Sturgeon Lake, leading to a staking rush in the vicinity.
Most exploration has concentrated around Fort a la Corne because the land contains a layer of up to 100 metres of overburden rock on top of diamond-bearing kimberlite pipes.
"The numbers probably tell you what the companies have concluded," said Marg Moran McQuinn of Saskatchewan Energy and Mines. "(But) there are still some areas known to have kimberlite rocks where there has been no testing . . . There is still a chance those could be the ones." |
