Vancouver — A 223.3-kg sample from the K281 kimberlite on the Buffalo Hills property in northern Alberta has returned seven diamonds for partners Ashton Mining of Canada (ACA-T), Alberta Energy (AEC-T) and Pure Gold Minerals (PUG-T).
Located 15 km southeast of the K252 kimberlite, the new body was cut by one drill hole at a depth of 37 metres and another at 80 metres. Initial data suggests that the pipe could cover a 500-by-300-metre area. Ashton is encouraged that the body is diamondiferous. However, the low count does not warrant any further work at this time.
At K252, three vertical holes were drilled into a 20-tonne sample to a depth of 200 metres. Results are expected in about two weeks.
A 1.3-tonne drill sample of volcaniclastic kimberlite was processed through Ashton’s dense-media-separation plant in North Vancouver. It returned a 0.85-carat parcel of diamonds larger than 0.8 mm for a preliminary grade of 0.662 carat per tonne. The largest recovered stone was a colourless composite crystal weighing 0.36 carat.
Two distinct phases have been recognized — a fine-to-medium-grained volcaniclastic kimberlite and a kimberlite breccia. The collection of material from the breccia phase was limited by difficult ground conditions at the contact between the two phases. The pipe is under 65-75 metres of overburden and is represented by a complex geophysical anomaly.
To date, 36 kimberlite bodies have been discovered on the property and 24 of them contain diamonds.
The Buffalo Hills project is jointly held by Ashton and Alberta Energy, each of which has a 45% interest in the central, 2.16-million-ha package, and Pure Gold, which holds the remainder.
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