Shore Gold Inc. - Star Diamond Project - 19.7 carat diamond recovered in 230 carat parcel
Stock Symbol: SGF: TSX-VEN
SASKATOON, SK, July 29 /CNW/ - George H. Read, P. Geo., Senior Vice
President Exploration, is pleased to announce that the third set of diamond
recoveries from the Star Kimberlite includes the largest diamond yet
discovered in Saskatchewan. These results are for five kimberlite batches of a
total of some 80 to 100 kimberlite batches that will be processed as part of
the bulk sampling program on the Star Diamond Project, the aim of which is to
recover a parcel of some 3,000 carats for valuation purposes. A total of 1,459
commercial sized diamonds (greater than 1.18 millimetre square mesh screen),
collectively weighing 227.6 carats, has been recovered from the treatment of
1,572.6 dry tonnes of kimberlite. Thirty-three diamonds greater than one carat
have been recovered and the four largest stones are: 19.71, 7.48, 5.61, 4.67
carats, respectively. In addition, 180 diamonds (3.1 carats) were recovered
down to 0.85 millimetre square mesh. The colour of over 80 percent of these
diamonds has been classified as white, with a further 13 percent classified as
off-white.
These kimberlite batches have been mined from two areas:
1.) Kimberlite from the upper part of the shaft (Batch 4), which is
consistent with Late Joli Fou equivalent kimberlite.
2.) Kimberlite from the Southeast drive (Batches 12, 13, 14, and 15A),
developed from the 235 metre shaft station, which is within the Early
Joli Fou equivalent kimberlite.
The Star Kimberlite consists predominantly of two stratigraphically
defined kimberlite types: the Early Joli Fou equivalent kimberlite and the
Late Joli Fou equivalent kimberlite. Results to date indicate that
significantly higher diamond grades are associated with the Early Joli Fou
equivalent kimberlite. Present kimberlite volume estimates, based on drilling,
underground mapping and whole rock geochemistry, suggest that the higher grade
Early Joli Fou kimberlite accounts for at least 80 percent of the volume of
the Star Kimberlite while the lower grade Late Joli Fou kimberlite accounts
for less than 20 percent of the volume. Cross sections illustrating the
relationships of these two major kimberlite types will be available on the
Shore Gold website at: www.shoregold.com. The diamond results included in this
news release confirm higher diamond grades are associated with the Early Joli
Fou equivalent kimberlite. To date, some 14,500 tonnes of kimberlite have been
extracted from Star as part of the bulk sampling program.
Batch 8 (Shaft) and Batches 15B, 16A, 16B, 17, 18 and 19 (from 235 metre
level) have all been processed on-site and the concentrates dispatched to the
sorting laboratory for final diamond recovery. Results from these batches are
pending. All batches processed to date are classified as crater facies
volcaniclastic kimberlites.
Kimberlite processed and diamond results for five sample batches are
listed in the table below. Grades are expressed in carats per hundred tonnes
(cpht).
<<
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Diamonds Largest
Batch Location Dry Number of Total Grade Stone
No. (metres below surface) Tonnes Stones (carats) (cpht) (carats)
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4 Shaft: 140.6 - 161.5 463.44 147 7.77 1.68 0.39
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12 235 m Level: SE drive 394.27 458 63.00 15.98 7.48
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13 235 m Level: SE drive 350.32 579 68.62 19.59 4.67
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14 235 m Level: SE drive 232.03 275 71.23 30.70 19.71
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15A 235 m Level: SE drive 132.54 180 20.01 15.10 1.67
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 1,572.6 1,639 230.63 14.67 19.71
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
The four largest stones are: 19.71 (Batch 14, White), 7.48 (Batch 12,
White), 5.61 (Batch 14, Off-white) and 4.67 (Batch 13, White) carats,
respectively. Thirteen diamonds exceed two carats and 33 diamonds exceed one
carat, of which 21 are white, 7 are off-white, 2 are brown, 1 is yellow, 1 is
amber, and 1 is grey. A total of 74 diamonds exceed 0.5 carat. Over 80 percent
of the total diamond parcel is classified white in colour, with a further 13
percent classified as off-white. The diamond parcel includes 25 yellow, 10
pink and 7 amber stones. Over 98 percent of the carat weight of this parcel
occurs in diamonds greater than 1.18 millimetre square mesh. These results
support what appears to be a fundamental diamond grade difference between the
Early (Batches 12, 13, 14 and 15A) and Late (Batch 4) Joli Fou equivalent
kimberlites. All results to date exhibit higher grades for samples from the
Early Joli Fou kimberlites.
Senior Vice President Exploration, George Read, states: "We are most
encouraged that the kimberlite grade and stone size continue to improve and
that our recent kimberlite volume calculations have shown that the higher
grade Early Joli Fou kimberlite accounts for approximately 80 percent of
Star".
The diamond recovery procedure includes on site processing of kimberlite
through the modular dense media separator (DMS), after which DMS concentrates
are batch fed through an X-ray Flow-sort. In order to ensure the recovery of
low luminosity diamonds, the Flow-sort tailings are processed over a grease
table. Flow-sort and grease table concentrates are transported by a secure
carrier to SGS Lakefield Research for final diamond recovery. The SGS
Lakefield Research process includes drying, screening, magnetic separation,
manual sorting and diamond weighing and description. SGS Lakefield Research is
accredited to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard by the Standards Council of Canada as
a testing laboratory for specific tests.
Grease table tailings and samples of the DMS light fraction have been
sent to Rio Tinto's Thunder Bay Mineral Processing Laboratory for audit. These
tailings fractions will be audited for both free and locked diamonds down to
0.85 millimetre square mesh. The audit process includes screening, drying,
magnetic separation, crushing and manual sorting. Grease table tailings audits
for free diamonds have been completed for Batch 1 and Batch 6. Low diamond
recoveries from the audit samples confirm the integrity of the processing
plant. Most of the diamonds recovered from the audits are small (1.18 - 1.70
millimetre square mesh) and poor quality (brown or grey in colour). Audit
sample processing continues and results will be integrated with final results.
The Thunder Bay Mineral Processing Laboratory is accredited to the ISO/IEC
17025 standard by the Standards Council of Canada as a testing laboratory for
specific tests.
Senior Vice President Exploration, George Read, Professional Geoscientist
in the Provinces of Saskatchewan and British Columbia, is the Qualified Person
responsible for the verification and quality assurance of analytical results.
The Star Diamond Project is designed to recover a parcel of at least
3,000 carats of diamonds to enable an accurate valuation of the stones. Up to
25,000 tonnes of kimberlite will be recovered from the shaft and drifts and
processed on site to produce this diamond parcel. Shore is a Canadian based
corporation engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral
properties. Shares of the Company trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the
trading symbol "SGF".
"The TSX Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release"
For further information: Kenneth E. MacNeill, President & C.E.O.,
George Sanders, Vice President Corporate Development or George H. Read, P.
Geo., Vice President Exploration at (306) 664-2202
newswire.ca
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