Will,
Part of the problem here is the fact that the grade *does* improve with depth, over the better drilled portions above 500 metres. That trend does not appear to continue, but neither can it be said that the grade drops off with greater depth at this juncture.
Correct.
(grade x thickness) plots are routinely carried out in advanced exploration and mining situations. The exercise I went through by doing a (thickness x microdiamond count/100) calculation, and then contouring those results, is a variation on that method(the assumption is that grade can be confidently related to micro diamond counts). This analytical method provides meaningful, important and practical economic applications, especially in a mine planning situation(where is the "heart" or "sweet spot" of the deposit? or where should we start mining to get our money back in the least amount of time and provide the greatest return on investment etc). Added benefits include useful insights and rational in deciding the direction of exploration, and in this particular case, geological criteria for where I may wish to invest next and why.
It is only since the most recent exploration this year, including the VRP and the high level of disclosure by WSP that has made this kind of outside analysis possible.
My interpretation of the contoured (grade x micro diamond/100) plot is as follows:
1. The source is a deep seated fissure spacialy related to the N.N.E. trending Snap lake fault.
2. The kimberlite was injected into low angle faults(perhaps some minor horizontal displacement along the highest low angle fault off set the vertical continuation of the fissure and Snap Fault to surface, forcing the kimberlite to move laterally into low angle displacement faults, forming at least two stacked sheets).
3. An intersecting N.W. trending fault may have localized thickening. This would indicate that the thickest areas must be restricted to the areas along the fissure AND where it is intersected by N.W. trending faults.
4. The best fit axis of the (grade x thickness) plot represents the strike of the fissure. The strike of this fissure is towards the south corner of SUF and DSP claim blocks.
5. Grade persists laterally but the sheets thin as distance from the fissure and cross cutting faults increases(proximity to source is important).
This analysis leads me to believe that the SUF MacKay claim block holds the most promise or potential for discovery of significant tonnage with comparatively thicker, sweet spots localized along the fissure.
regards,
teevee |
