Ashton Mining of Canada Inc.: RENARD 7 AND 8
DIAMONDIFEROUS
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--Robert T. Boyd, President and CEO of
Ashton Mining of Canada Inc. ("Ashton"), is pleased to report
diamond results for the Renard 7 and 8 kimberlitic bodies in the
Otish Mountains region of north-central Quebec. Discovered in
August and September 2002 respectively, Renard 7 and 8 are
located within a two kilometre diameter area that also
encompasses the diamondiferous Renard 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6
kimberlitic bodies. The Renard cluster is located on the 153,000
hectare Foxtrot property currently under exploration by Ashton
and its joint venture partner, SOQUEM INC. ("SOQUEM").
As announced on October 4, Renard 7 was discovered by drilling
one vertical and one angle hole at 50 degrees from horizontal
into a complex geophysical anomaly having approximate surface
dimensions of 150 m x 60 m. Renard 8 was discovered by drilling
two angle holes inclined at 50 degrees from horizontal across a
geophysical anomaly having approximate surface dimensions of 75 m
x 40 m.
Samples of core from the drill holes were processed for diamonds
by caustic dissolution at Ashton's North Vancouver laboratory.
The following table presents the results for these samples in
square mesh sieve format. These data are insufficient to infer an
accurate diamond grade for these kimberlitic bodies.
/T/
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Numbers of Diamonds According to
Sample Sieve Size Fraction (mm)
Kimberlitic Weight +0.100 +0.150 +0.212 +0.300 +0.425 Total
Body (kg) -0.150 -0.212 -0.300 -0.425 -0.600 Diamonds
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Renard 7 101.1 17 8 3 5 0 33
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Renard 8 111.8 3 2 3 0 1 9
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/T/
With the current results, the joint venture has confirmed that
all eight kimberlitic bodies in the Renard cluster are
diamondiferous.
Dense media separation ("DMS") processing of the three mini-bulk
samples taken during the summer 2002 field program is now
underway. Collected from Renard 2, 3 and 4, these samples weigh
approximately 1.8, 4.3 and 4.2 tonnes respectively.
Ashton and SOQUEM have been exploring for diamonds in Quebec
since 1996. The 50:50 joint venture currently holds more than
380,000 hectares of highly prospective mineral permits, including
250,000 hectares in the Otish Mountains region. SOQUEM is a
wholly-owned subsidiary of SGF Minerals Inc., a subsidiary of
Société Générale de Financement du Québec ("SGF"). The mission of
the SGF is to carry out economic development projects in
cooperation with partners and in accordance with accepted
requirements of profitability.
Ashton is the operator of the exploration programs and Brooke
Clements, Professional Geologist and Ashton's Vice President,
Exploration, is responsible for their design and conduct and the
verification and quality assurance of analytical results. |
