Hello Eyewatch
This appears to be Will's latest effort which contains some comparisons to Yamba's Sue data which I've highlighted:
Ashton Mining of Canada Inc - Street Wire
Ashton finds glimmers of hope in its latest Renard finds
Ashton Mining of Canada Inc ACA
Shares issued 49,062,149 Nov 13 2002 close $ 1.15
Thursday November 14 2002 Street Wire
by Will Purcell
Ashton Mining of Canada Inc. has proved that its two latest kimberlitic finds in the Otish Mountains region of Northern Quebec were diamondiferous. Like a number of earlier finds, the rock contained a modest number of microdiamonds, but unlike the earlier results, macro-sized stones appeared to be few and far between. Speculators who had grown accustomed to tales of larger macrodiamonds from the region were less than enthused with the news however, and Ashton's stock sold off on Tuesday as a result, dipping to an intraday low of $1.10, but rallying to close at $1.15, where it remained Wednesday. Despite the modest counts, it seems too early to write off the latest finds, and a further investigation of Renard-7 and Renard-8 is still in the cards, according to Ashton's president, Robert Boyd.
Following a similar strategy that it has used on most of its earlier discoveries, Ashton processed about 100 kilograms of kimberlite from each of the two new bodies. The best result was obtained from Renard-7, where 33 diamonds were recovered form 101 kilograms of kimberlitic rock, while just nine stones were obtained from 112 kilograms of material taken from Renard-8. Mr. Boyd said that he was encouraged by the fact that the small samples were diamond bearing, adding that the small microdiamond populations made it hard to tell just what it all means.
The market seemed to have a much easier time in making that determination, although at this stage it might just be an incorrect conclusion. Complicating matters somewhat is the fact that Ashton has now made the switch to reporting its results in sieve sizes, making a direct comparison with the earlier numbers a tougher task. Nevertheless, it seems that the two latest Renard discoveries have fairly coarse diamond distribution curves, although they do not as yet show signs of being comparable with Renard-3, Renard-4 and Renard-5.
The exploration results from Renard-6 offer hope that the two latest bodies may yet make the grade. Last spring, Ashton processed 101 kilograms of rock from Renard-6, recovering 31 diamonds, and just six of the stones were macrodiamonds, with one dimension longer than 0.5 millimetre. Only two of the diamonds were two-dimensional macrodiamonds, and although the biggest stone measured one millimetre in two dimensions, the numbers of larger diamonds were clearly inferior to the counts obtained from Renard-3, Renard-4 and Renard-5. A subsequent sample did little to alter that impression. Ashton processed another 51 kilograms of rock, about half the size of the initial test, coming up with just six diamonds, including two macro-sized stones. One of those was a macro in two dimensions, although it apparently was smaller than one millimetre in length. As a result, the subsequent sample seemed to reinforce the notion that the diamond content and size distribution at Renard-6 was inferior to that of its sisters.
That may well be the case, but it is also possible that much of the difference is the result of statistical error that would be expected in tiny samples. Ashton subsequently processed 457 kilograms of rock from Renard-6 through its dense media separation plant, looking for macrodiamonds larger than a 0.8 millimetre mesh, and that program produced a single stone weighing an impressive 0.26 carat. That would suggest a grade in excess of 0.5 carat per tonne, but the sample was far too small to imply any meaningful grade to Renard-6 as a whole. The significant degree of statistical error present in both the microdiamond and macrodiamond results from the Renard-6 samples, along with their seemingly different messages, is a clear sign that more work is required to adequately assess that find, and that conclusion would certainly apply to the two latest finds as well.
There are other signs that it may be too soon to write off the two latest finds without larger samples. One of those signs is that the sieve recoveries of the Renard-7 and Renard-8 diamonds do offer glimmers of a fairly coarse size distribution. Although the haul from Renard-8 is so paltry that the numbers could be spun to support almost any conclusion, the somewhat greater number of stones from Renard-7 produces results that are comparable with some recent recoveries in Canada's North that had their owners enthused.
SouthernEra processed 717 kilograms of kimberlite from its Sue pipe on the Yamba Lake property, recovering 214 diamonds. Just 28 of those were large enough to remain on a 0.3-millimetre screen, which was about 13 per cent of the total haul. Meanwhile, five of the 33 stones from Renard-7, or about 15 per cent of the parcel, were of a similar size. Several of the Sue macrodiamonds were larger than one millimetre, and that seemed to have SouthernEra's chairman, Chris Jennings in an optimistic mood, as he described the macrodiamond recoveries as "very encouraging." Although the Renard-7 did not contain one-millimetre macrodiamonds, the similarities in the sieve results would offer encouragement that larger samples from Renard-7 would contain a more favourable array of larger macros as well.
Late last month, Canabrava Diamond Corporation and Diamonds North Resources processed 194 kilograms of kimberlite from the King Eider body on Victoria Island. That rock yielded just 38 diamonds, but it was the size distribution that had Canabrava's George Read excited. He said that the macrodiamond recoveries were encouraging, adding that the kimberlite warranted further work as a result. Diamonds North's president, Mark Kolebaba was a bit more specific, saying that they were encouraged by the diamond size distribution. Ten of the 38 King Eider diamonds were large enough to remain on a 0.3-millimetre mesh, or about 26 per cent of the entire parcel, which is nearly double the rate from Renard-7. It is not quite that easy however. One of the three batches of kimberlite from King Eider, weighing nearly 60 kilograms, had yielded just eight diamonds, and only one of them was large enough to remain on a 0.3-millimetre screen. A second, 67-kilogram sample had produced five diamonds, with two of them being large enough to remain on the mesh, while the third sample, weighing 68 kilograms, produced 25 stones, and seven of them remained on the 0.3-millimetre screen. That result shows the variations that normally occur in small kimberlite samples.
As a result, there is an excellent chance that Renard-7 and Renard-8 will see additional drilling next year. Just how much drilling, and when, appear to be the key questions at this stage. Mr. Boyd said that he believed all of the Renard bodies warranted more work, adding that it was just a matter of priorities and timing. Ashton does not yet have any firm plans for working its Renard project, as it is still missing some key information form this year's program. The macrodiamond results from three additional mini-bulk tests will likely be the prime consideration in prioritizing additional sampling on the existing finds.
Speculators, along with Mr. Boyd and his staff, are eagerly awaiting the results of the mini-bulk tests of Renard-3 and Renard-4, but coming up with additional kimberlite finds in the area is still a major component in the company's exploration strategy, according to Mr. Boyd. He said that advancing the finds that had already been made was also a high priority, but they would not be going off half-cocked, taking really huge samples from the first one that demonstrated a decent grade. That would seem to suggest that Ashton will hold off on any bulk sampling for the immediate future, proceeding instead with progressively larger mini-bulk tests, should the results warrant it. The company has traditionally processed samples weighing a few tonnes and followed that work with samples weighing 10 to 20 tonnes, if the initial samples were encouraging. Ashton's largest test to date, taken from its K-14 pipe in Northern Alberta, weighed just less than 500 tonnes.
With eight diamondiferous kimberlitic bodies within a two-kilometre circle, the Renard region is beginning to appear sufficiently explored, but Mr. Boyd said that there were still indicator mineral trains in the vicinity that were unexplained. "We are building from the known," he said, adding that he believed that there were still more pipes to be found in the area. Mr. Boyd said that geophysics had proved helpful, but it was not definitive. Geophysical work has apparently helped Ashton get into the targets, but it has not been effective in coming up with a size estimate for the bodies. As well, as any remaining finds are likely to have much more subtle geophysical signatures, making additional finds could prove to be a tougher task. Nevertheless, Ashton has had an impressive record of drill successes across Canada, and especially in the Otish Mountains region.
Without any firm plans at this stage, Ashton does not yet have a budget for next year's program, but Mr. Boyd said that the company would probably be spending a similar amount of cash to what was shelled out this year across Canada, and the Otish region should get a big chunk of that once again. Much of the cash will go to additional testing of the existing finds, and a significant portion of the remainder will be spent on finding new Renard pipes, but Ashton will continue its preliminary exploration on other portions of its Quebec properties. The company has a number of kimberlite indicator mineral trains elsewhere in Quebec, and those should see additional work next year. Mr. Boyd said that Ashton did not put together land positions without indicator mineral anomalies being evident, and the company is believed to have completed an aggressive mineral sampling program across its properties last year. Additional finds in Quebec would add more fuel to the company's promotional fires, but the big market payoff continues to be advancing the existing Renard cluster. As a result, the company will likely devote most of its effort in the Renard region of the Foxtrot property. "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush," said Mr. Boyd.
Investors have high hopes that more birds flock to Mr. Boyd's hand after the Renard-2 pipe produced a grade of nearly 0.70 carat per tonne last spring, from a 2.44-tonne sample. The company is now processing an additional 1.8 tonnes of rock form that find, but the real interest appears to be in the results from samples of just over four tonnes that were taken from Renard-3 and Renard-4. Last spring, Ashton produced some unusual and highly encouraging microdiamond results from the two bodies, along with Renard-5. Ashton did not take a larger sample from Renard-5, as it is under water, but it will do so once the lake freezes over this winter. Meanwhile, Renard-5 showed a sign of its potential, along with that of its Renard-3 and Renard-4 sisters, when Ashton recovered a 0.92-carat diamond from a 364-kilogram batch of rock early this fall.
If all of the samples are as good as hoped, the Renard play would get a big boost. The biggest concern at this stage is the small size of the bodies, but several of them might combine to make an economic deposit. Mr. Boyd and Ashton are not yet offering a guess about the tonnage contained in the Renard pipes, but an estimate of between five million and 10 million tonnes for the key pipes seems reasonable at this stage. That would not be enough to support an Ekati-sized mine, but it could prove to be profitable if the grade and value were sufficiently high. The small size of the pipes nevertheless makes coming up with additional discoveries a high priority. Ashton closed unchanged Wednesday, at $1.15.
Regards
Vaughn |
