Buffalo exploring at Calling Lake, Chain Lakes and New Claymore's Varlaam
property
New Claymore Resources Ltd NCS
Shares issued 4,165,775 Mar 15 close $0.38
Mon 15 Mar 99 News Release
See Buffalo Diamonds Ltd (BUFD.U) News Release
Mr. Chet Idziszek reports
Exploration is progressing on the company's Calling Lake, Varlaam and Chain
Lakes diamond properties in Alberta. The Calling Lake and Chain Lakes
properties, covering 77,000 and 93,000 hectares respectively, are
100-per-cent-owned by the company. The company also has an option from New
Claymore Resources to acquire up to a 70 per cent interest in the Varlaam
property (100,000 hectares) which is contiguous with the Calling Lake
property.
A total of 71 overburden auger holes have now been completed on the Calling
Lake property, the majority of the holes were completed up ice from the
discovery site of a gem quality macrodiamond in a till sample collected
from the Calling River East target area. Surface sampling from this area
has also produced diamond indicator minerals (chromites and picroilmenites)
with exceptional chemistry. Auger holes were also completed in the Calling
Lake South, Calling Lake Southeast and two other previously reported target
areas.
In January of this year, Christopher Campbell of Intrepid Geophysics was
contacted to complete a detailed interpretation of last year's Calling Lake
airborne geophysical surveys and to prioritize the initial 124 magnetic and
55 resistivity anomalies initially identified. Preliminary results of this
interpretation have identified approximately 30 moderate to high priority
kimberlite targets, some with coincident magnetic and resistivity
signatures. A number of these moderate to high priority geophysical targets
are associated with each of the target areas. The remaining previously
identified geophysical anomalies have either been attributed to culture or
classified as lower priority targets. The continuing diamond indicator
mineral survey on the property will be used to further prioritize all
geophysical anomalies. If a kimberlite is identified on the property, all
levels of airborne geophysical anomalies with associated diamond indicator
minerals will become important drill targets.
A detailed interpretation of diamond indicator mineral geochemistry has
been completed by two independent sources: Mike Dufresne of Apex Geoscience
and Dr. Bruce Jago of Lakefield Research Ltd. This work confirms the
excellent diamond bearing kimberlite potential of the Calling Lake
property. In addition to the gem quality macrodiamond recovered from the
Calling River East target area, the quantity, chemistry and varieties of
diamond indicator minerals recovered from extensive stream sediment and
glacial till sampling are highly indicative of the proximal presence of
diamond-bearing kimberlite or lamproite. Some of the most significant
results from the diamond indicator mineral geochemistry from the Calling
River East target area are as follows:
Magnesium rich picroilmenites strongly enriched in chromium (up to
4.46 per cent Cr2O3) have been recovered from the Calling River East
target area. These have likely been derived from diamond bearing
mantle. On the basis of their unique magnesium and chromium content,
picroilmenites from five separate sample sites suggest the source rock
is not only a kimberlite, but a kimberlite with high-grade diamond
bearing potential. The MgO-rich and FeO-poor nature of these
picroilmenites is an excellent indication of high diamond preservation
potential of the transporting kimberlitic magmas.
In addition, a diamond inclusion quality chromite along with several
near diamond inclusion quality chromites have been recovered from
glacial till and stream sediment samples in the Calling River East
target area. The diamond inclusion quality chromite recovered from a
glacial till sample is described as best diamond inclusion quality
chromite reported in Alberta to date. Diamond inclusion quality
chromite has a very restricted range of chemistry characterized by a
high average chromium content with moderate levels of magnesium. The
source of these chromites is almost exclusively chromite harzburgite,
one of the three principal diamond bearing source rocks in the upper
mantle. For a kimberlite to have significant diamond bearing
potential, the kimberlitic magma must have incorporated at least one
of the three principal diamond bearing source rocks from the upper
mantle - eclogite, garnet harzburgite or chromite harzburgite.
Due to the large amount of oxide minerals being recovered from the
heavy mineral concentrates of surface samples, usually less than 10
per cent of the oxide concentrate is examined for diamond indicator
minerals (picroilmenites and chromites). It is, therefore, reasonable
to expect that the final recovered diamond indicator oxide mineral
counts will be greater once the remaining oxide concentrates have been
picked.
The exceptional diamond indicator mineral results from surface sampling in
the Calling River East target area are concentrated along a six kilometre
stretch of the Calling River. Over 25 high to low priority airborne
geophysical anomalies have been identified between this stretch of the
Calling River and the northern property boundary. Auger holes were
completed at 500 metre spacing along six east-west lines testing an area 12
kilometres up ice from the macrodiamond sample site and the Calling River.
The purpose of the auger sampling program was to trace the dispersion of
diamond indicator minerals back to a kimberlitic source, rather than
specifically test geophysical anomalies in bedrock. Based on auger sampling
to date, an average overburden depth of 35 to 40 metres can be inferred for
large portions of Calling River East.
The Calling Lake South and Calling Lake South East target areas are now
considered one larger target area at which is inferred a potential
kimberlite source or sources within Calling Lake that is separate from the
potential kimberlite source at the Calling River East target area. Four
overburden auger holes have been completed south and southeast of Calling
Lake to determine the distribution of diamond indicator minerals throughout
a stratigraphic section in the overburden. Random sampling of beach sands
along the southern shoreline of Calling Lake has produced over 100 pyrope
garnets including six previously reported G10 (Gurney's) sub-calcic Cr
pyrope garnets (indicative of diamond bearing garnet harzburgite) and an
excellent population of diamond inclusion quality eclogitic garnets
(indicative of diamond bearing eclogite). Recently, three beach sediment
samples collected from the southwest shoreline late in 1998 were processed
for diamond indicator mineral analyses and produced an extraordinary
quantity (three to five kilograms) of heavy mineral concentrate. Typically
heavy mineral concentrates from stream or beach sediment samples have been
in the order of 100 to 250 grams, from a 25 kg sample. About 200 grains of
each of these concentrates have been picked producing as many as 27
silicate indicator minerals (pyrope garnets, chrome diopside) from
approximately 5 per cent or less of the concentrates. It is likely that
these three samples, when completely examined, may yield as many as 200
pyrope garnets. This quantity of pyrope garnets is typically only observed
within a few hundred metres of a kimberlite pipe. The presence of G10
(Gurney's) garnets and other kimberlitic indicator minerals along the south
shoreline of Calling Lake strongly suggests one or multiple diamond bearing
kimberlites in or proximal to the lake. Most of Calling Lake is within the
Varlaam property boundary and has not received airborne geophysical
coverage. The company will start a fixed wing airborne magnetic survey over
the Varlaam property and portions of the Calling Lake Property within the
next week.
Target areas 1 and 3 on the Calling Lake property were also tested with the
overburden auger rig. Indicator mineral results from all auger holes are
pending. Results from the first holes of this program are expected in early
April 1999.
Diamond indicator results have been received for 90 of the 277 glacial fill
samples collected from the Chain Lakes property. Possible pyrope garnets,
chrome diopsides, eclogitic garnets, olivine, chromite and picroilmenite
have been identified visually in the majority of samples. Drill cuttings
from a drill hole completed in 1997 on the Chain Lakes property was also
submitted to Lakefield Research for diamond indicator analysis. A total of
54 indicator minerals were produced including pyrope garnets, eclogitic
garnets, chrome diopside, picroilmenite, chromite, and olivine. Since the
drill hole penetrated a thin veneer of overburden and bedrock, the
significance of the diamond indicator mineral results from the drill
cuttings remains to be determined. Once all surface sampling results have
been received, a detailed interpretation of the airborne data will be used
to establish priority areas for followup exploration.
(c) Copyright 1999 Canjex Publishing Ltd. canada-stockwatch.com
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