THE DIAMOND PAGE — Trade Winds pulls stones from Drybones

Drill results from the Drybones Bay diamond project in the Northwest Territories are proving encouraging for Trade Winds Resources (TDN-V).

In 1996, the company tested the eastern portion of the complex kimberlite intrusive, pulling 9.3 tonnes of sample from seven inclined holes totalling 3,112 metres. Fifty-four diamonds, measuring greater than 0.8 mm, were recovered, the largest being a clear, white octahedral aggregate measuring 3 by 2.2 by 1.9 mm.

Four holes, drilled in the easternmost part of the body, intersected a sequence of kimberlitic quartz and sand-rich epiclastics interbedded with kimberlite breccia and tuff. Caustic fusion analysis on a 50-kg sample of the kimberlitic quartz sand returned a single microdiamond.

Three holes tested the east-central portion, some 300 metres to the west, and intersected a diatreme facies rock type characterized by olivine and abundant, large mantle xenoliths.

Selected sampling from the middle of two holes yielded 1,025 kg, which returned a preliminary grade of 20.16 carats per 100 tonnes, or 0.2016 carat per tonne.

Situated 50 km southeast of Yellowknife, the Drybones Bay kimberlite is a complex, multi-facie intrusion comprising an area measuring 900 by 400 metres. The western part consists of a well-layered crater facies.

The core of the system is a diatreme facies which features a dyke-shaped cross-section with an approximate width of 250 metres at its top. The highest grades have come from the central region.

The eastern edge of the intrusion consists of epiclastic and quartz sand-rich kimberlite.

Preliminary age-dating suggests the possibility of two separate intrusions.

Trade Winds holds the right to an 80% interest in the project.