Star Diamond optionee drills 10 sample holes at Star
2019-10-08 07:38 ET - News Release
Shares issued 409,065,051
DIAM Close 2019-10-07 C$ 0.21
Mr. George Read reports
STAR - ORION SOUTH DIAMOND PROJECT 2019 TRENCH CUTTER BULK SAMPLING COMPLETED ON STAR KIMBERLITE
Rio Tinto Exploration Canada (RTEC) has completed the drilling of 10 bulk sample holes (trenches) to conclude its program on Star Diamond Corp.'s Star kimberlite using the trench cutter sampling rig. The Star Kimberlite is located within the Corporation's Star - Orion South Diamond Project, in the Fort a la Corne diamond district of central Saskatchewan, Canada, on mineral dispositions held 100 percent by Star Diamond. RTEC refers to Star Diamond's mineral dispositions in the Fort a la Corne diamond district as Project FalCon. The ten holes completed on the Star Kimberlite included a total of 2,351 metres of trench cutter drilling and intersected a total of 1,215.5 metres of kimberlite. This kimberlite was pumped to surface and recovered using a Kimberlite Separation Unit ("KSU"), with samples loaded and stored in cubic metre bulk bags, which total 6,848 in number.
The drilling and sampling statistics for each of these ten trenches on the Star kimberlite are listed in the table below (in order of drilling):
RTEC Trench #Days per TrenchAverage Production (m/day)Total Depth (m)Samples CollectedBags Collected 19FALCT001 16 14.3 228.4 15 703 19FALCT004 15 15.6 233.8 15 771 19FALCT003 14 17.8 249.3 15 873 19FALCT007 10 22.5 225.1 14 613 19FALCT006 10 24.1 241.5 15 705 19FALCT005 13 17.7 230.3 13 683 19FALCT009 9 25.3 227.9 16 579 19FALCT008 9 25.6 230.6 14 543 19FALCT002 17 14.8 251.1 17 806 19FALCT010 11 21.2 233.0 17 572 Total 124 19.0 2,351.0 151 6,848
The Trench Cutter Sampling Rig consists of a Bauer BC 50 Cutter mounted on a Bauer MC 128 Duty-cycle Crane. The depth of each trench is determined by kimberlite thickness. Trench 19FALCT002 confirmed that the Trench Sampling Rig can reach its designed sampling depth of 250 metres below surface. The KSU is designed to recover kimberlite fragments between 80 and 0.85 millimetres from the Trench Cutter Sampling Rig slurry. Kimberlite collected is being stored in a secure storage area, until the on-site Bulk Sample Plant ("BSP") has been fully assembled and commissioned. Final diamond recovery will then be conducted by RTEC at a secure off-site facility.
Senior Vice President Exploration and Development, George Read, states: "RTEC have successfully applied this new sampling technology and completed the trench cutter bulk sampling program on the Star Kimberlite. This ambitious sampling program required significant time to assemble all the components on site, but once it commenced the trench cutter has operated efficiently and successfully, recovering a large (estimated by RTEC to be approximately 8,271 wet tonnes) bulk sample from the Star Kimberlite. Simultaneous to conducting the trench cutter program, RTEC have been assembling the BSP, which is now at an advanced stage of construction. Once construction is completed, RTEC intends to commission the BSP using existing Orion South kimberlite that was originally collected by the Corporation from the underground bulk sampling program performed in early 2009. The use of Orion South material for commissioning the BSP will help ensure that the BSP is operating at its design capacity before the commencement of the processing of the trench cutter samples that were collected from RTEC's 2019 bulk sampling program. RTEC's bulk sampling program using the Trench Cutter has been designed to recover high quality kimberlite samples and to help ensure that diamond breakage is minimized. The successful use of this new Trench Cutter Sampling Rig technology for the recovery of kimberlite bulk samples also has the ability to revolutionize future bulk sampling and mining of kimberlites, particularly for kimberlites characteristic of the Fort a la Corne diamond district of central Saskatchewan, Canada."
Star Diamond Corporation is a Canadian based corporation engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties. Shares of the Corporation trade on the TSX Exchange under the trading symbol "DIAM". The Corporation's Fort a la Corne kimberlites (including the Star - Orion South Diamond Project, or "Project") are located in central Saskatchewan in close proximity to established infrastructure, including paved highways and the electrical power grid, which provide significant advantages for future mine development.
All technical information in this press release has been prepared under the supervision of George Read, Senior Vice-President of Exploration and Development, a registered Professional Geoscientist in the Provinces of Saskatchewan and British Columbia and Mark Shimell, Project Manager, a registered Professional Geoscientist in the Province of Saskatchewan, who are the Corporation's "Qualified Persons" under the definition of NI 43-101.
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