Ashton makes finds at Alberta diamond site
By JOHN SCHREINER
Vancouver Bureau Chief The Financial Post
Diamond explorer Ashton Mining of Canada Ltd. has found another four kimberlite pipes at its exploration project in northern Alberta.
The company also said yesterday it has decided to more than double the bulk sample to 25 tonnes from an earlier discovery pipe, K-14, after it learned that the overburden layer is shallower than
expected. "It's thin enough that you can get at it with a shovel," said exploration vice-president Wayne Hillier.
One of 11 pipes Ashton discovered last winter, K-14 yielded the best diamond recovery, with a 204-kilogram sample containing 12 macrodiamonds and 190 microdiamonds. The four additional pipes discovered by Ashton include one 250 metres north of K-14, called
K-14A.
Ashton now will "fast-track" analyses of the microdiamonds in each of the new discoveries. Hillier would not say when the results are expected, but he did indicate that Ashton hopes to produce the
results quickly.
Ashton is involved in a $4.4-million exploration program in Alberta, where it is earning a 42.5% interest in the mineral properties under investigation. Its partner is Pure Gold Resources Inc., which
is earning a 15% interest. Both companies are working under an option agreement with Alberta Energy Co., which holds the underlying mineral rights. The shallowness of the overburden, Hillier said, helps Ashton contain the costs of exploration. The benefit will be offset somewhat by the additional costs of airlifting the larger sample from K-14.
As a result of increasing the sample size, the timetable for the first test results has been extended to mid-October.
The shares (ACA/TSE), which have had a 52-week range of $8.05 to 75›, closed yesterday at $3.60 up 10›.
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