Hello George
Not sure if you saw this on the wire this A.M.
January 11, 1999 12:45
Rex Finds First Commercial-Sized Diamonds In Mauritania
TORONTO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 11, 1999--Rex Diamond Mining Corporation (TSE:RXD) made public today Dr. Luc Rombouts' latest report on the company's diamond exploration activities in Mauritania.
From end of September 1998 till early November 1998, the company carried out a follow-up sampling program in the Touajil area of northern Mauritania, where previously two diamonds, kimberlitic pyrope and chrome-diopside had been found in the 0.3 to 0.5 mm fraction of surface samples. The follow-up surface sampling grid consisted of samples taken along a square 500 meter grid. The grid covered a rectangular area of 12.5 km by 15 km. Each sample consisted of surface sand screened between 0.5 to 2 mm, winnowed on site and reduced to about 1 kg. In addition a number of samples were taken on a 1 by 1 km grid in the adjoining areas. From November 1998 till early January 1999 the 878 samples were analyzed by the Mineral Services laboratory, headed by Prof. John Gurney, in Cape Town, and by a mineralogical laboratory in Moscow, under the supervision of Dr. Felix Kaminsky and Ms. Sablukova. Sixteen macrodiamonds were found in the grid samples. The diamonds are mainly clear and white. These are the first commercial-sized diamonds ever found in Mauritania. The total weight of the diamonds recovered in the 0.5 to 2 mm fraction is 0.30 carats. The four largest diamonds, just under 2 mm in size, are 0.05, 0.05, 0.04, and 0.03 carats in weight. Most samples contained kimberlitic pyrope and some contained ilmenite. The chemical analyses of the ilmenites are expected shortly.
The dispersal pattern of the diamonds and the kimberlite indicators point to multiple sources, but with a dominant source in the southeast of the area. A broad paleochannel runs from the southeast corner to the northwest and bends then to the southwest. Several of the diamond-bearing samples were taken on top of the gravels filling the paleochannel. These near-surface gravels are 1 to 2 meters thick and cover several million square meters. Therefore, apart from the obvious kimberlite potential as indicated by the abundance of indicator minerals, the shallow gravels in the paleochannel could form an attractive diamond deposit. A jig plant is being mobilized out of Rex's South African operations to Mauritania to test the economic potential of the surface gravels.
The company fully owns three diamond exploration permits, Akchar, El Hammami and Tenoumer, in northern Mauritania, covering in total 72,000 km2. In tandem with the follow-up program at Touajil, located in the El Hammami permit, the company continued the systematic regional exploration work further north and east. To date, more than 5000 soil samples have been taken for heavy mineral analysis. Pyrope and chrome diopside was not only found in the Touajil area but also in surface samples taken respectively 45 km, 115 km and 150 km northeast of the Touajil area. Some of the pyrope and chrome diopside occurrences coincide with aeromagnetic anomalies. Sampling is continuing now further east in the Tenoumer region. The first stage regional sampling of the 26,000 km2 Tenoumer exploration permit should be completed on schedule by May 1999.
CONTACT: Rex Diamond Mining Corporation
Ben Holemans, +323-205-9060
Website: rexmining.com
E-mail: Info@rexmining.be
Regards |
