Good points, Frank. I don't even think Ashton wants that kind of info out there, not yet.
But as is posted at PUG's website ( pugres.com ),
The Buffalo Hills kimberlite bodies appear to be completely intact and large. Many are near surface and amenable to open pit mining methods. The northern Alberta region offers excellent infrastructure with a very supportive provincial government. Given the large volume of near-surface kimberlite material in K-14 for example, Pure Gold management estimate that a threshold value of $22 per tonne may support an economic mining operation in northern Alberta.
This is a powerful sentiment. It has also been said that near-surface, open-cast extraction costs in Alberta will be only about $12-$15/ tonne, therefore above that, profit. If insider reports of a predicted ultimate average GemQuality of 65% are near accurate, that would (could) mean valuations around... what?, at least,... $100-/ct?*
*What then would that mean in terms of necessary grade (or carats per tonne) for profitability? _ Factor in the enormous tonnages these anomalies in Alberta represent, and... :)
Compare pipes & deposit valuations around the world:
fagan.stockscape.com
and, fagan.stockscape.com
See Fagan's full April/98 issue of TFR, wherein he discusses gem quality a little and,
"How much is the rock worth; what does it really mean? Find out by comparing it to the most complete database of early stage diamond exploration results and economic statistics in the public domain.":
fagan.stockscape.com
-- See also TFR, Feb/98 for more formulae, etc: fagan.stockscape.com
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This is very rough, but my guess is that a comparatively very low grade (ie, diamond occurrence) in AB would prove to be above profitable levels, for reasons outlined on this thread. And yet I expect we shall hear of levels well above these cutoffs, and right here in Canada to boot!
Just my two cents.
Best to all,
-j
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