Actual full National Post article.........frank
Tuesday, February 04, 2003
CREDIT: Lyle Stafford, National Post
Catherine McLeod-Seltzer of Stornoway Ventures, right, tell the press about the discovery of two diamond finds in Nunavut yesterday. To her right are co-promoters John Robins and Eira Thomas.
CREDIT: Nick Didlick, National Post
John Robins, president of Northern Empire Minerals Ltd.,
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Three junior Vancouver mining companies yesterday announced the discovery of two promising diamond properties in Nunavut, opening yet another front for Canada's burgeoning gemstone industry.
Stornoway Ventures Ltd., Northern Empire Minerals Ltd. and privately held Hunter Exploration Group, yesterday said they found two diamond-bearing kimberlites in Melville Peninsula, a large but isolated finger of land that almost touches the northern tip of Baffin Island.
Eira Thomas, Catherine McLeod-Seltzer and John Robins, the Vancouver-based mining promoters behind the companies, said the find represents the first significant diamond discovery in the largely unexplored region.
Most Canadian diamond exploration is taking place in the general vicinity of Canada's two producing properties, the Ekati and Diavik mines, both located 300 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife. Staking rushes and intensive exploration have also swept through Baffin Island and the northern parts of several provinces, including Ontario and Quebec.
The Melville Peninsula discoveries spread Canada's diamond hunt to a sparsely explored corner of Nunavut.
"This is the first diamond-bearing kimberlite within the general region. The closest known kimberlite is probably 500 kilometres away on the north end of Baffin Island. This part of Canada has not undergone a lot of systematic exploration for diamonds," Mr. Robins said yesterday.
The find would be the second significant diamond discovery for Ms. Thomas, chief executive of Stornoway. Ms. Thomas, a geologist, is credited with discovering what is now the $1.3-billion Diavik Mine in the Northwest Territories. Diavik began commercial production last month.
The discovery is also a second stroke of luck for Ms. McLeod-Seltzer, president of Stornoway. The former investment banker is credited with the discovery of the Arequipa gold property in Peru. The property was later sold to Barrick Gold Corp.
The Melville Island discovery emerged out of a failed search for base metals. Mr. Robins was looking for nickel and copper in Nunavut, but came up dry. His private company, Hunter, asked a lab to test his rock samples for signs of diamond. Those results were encouraging, so he sought partners to continue the search.
In November, 2001, Northern Empire, a publicly traded junior led by Mr. Robins, linked up with Hunter and Stornoway to form the Aviat Project Joint Venture. The project secured exploration rights to 1.3 million acres of the Melville Peninsula in late 2001. Samples were collected throughout 2002, particularly from two promising outcrops of rock jetting out from water and glacial till.
Lab tests were ready in September, 2002. A 186-kilogram sample from one outcrop was found to contain 228 diamonds. A 43-kilogram sample from another revealed 92 diamonds.
The test results were initially kept secret so the joint venture could secure an even larger land-exploration position. In December, it filed a claim for an extra 5.5 million acres of permitting rights. The Nunavut government only yesterday approved the permits.
"What is very unusual in the mining industry is for a company to be able to keep things quiet long enough for the companies to amass a large enough land position," Mr. Robins explained.
The three companies say they are a long way from determining whether the properties are economic. "This very positive initial result indicates that this is just the beginning. Diamond exploration is an expensive proposition and there remains much to do to fully explore the potential of these discoveries," Ms. McLeod-Seltzer said.
Shares in the two publicly traded partners soared on news of the discovery. Northern Empire was up 60¢ to close at $1.10 on the TSX Venture Exchange. Stornoway was up 64¢ to close at $1.06 on the TSXV. |
