Kelvin kimberlite earns high grades

The results of a second bulk sample at Kennady Diamonds’ (TSXV: KDI) Kennady North diamond project in the Northwest Territories confirm the high grade potential of the Kelvin kimberlite.

The 612-tonne sample, focused on Kelvin’s north limb, returned 1,278 carats of commercial-sized diamonds for a sample grade of 2.09 carats per tonne.

In a release in September, the company noted that the results were very similar to those from a 2015 bulk sample from Kelvin’s south limb.

“One of the key observations to emerge from our Kelvin bulk-sampling programs is the remarkable consistency in overall diamond grade across the full extent of the body, despite the geological complexity within the body,” said Kennady president and CEO Rory Moore in a release. “This is a positive attribute from both an evaluation and a mining perspective.”

Work by SRK Consulting has identified three zones (A, B, and C) of variable grade at Kelvin, with Zone B consisting of two sub-units.

“Diamond grades vary quite substantially between geological domains, with grades exceeding 3 carats per tonne recorded for individual horizons within Zone A,” Moore said. “The fact that these higher grade zones occur at the top of the body will have a positive impact on the economics of a potential mining scenario.”

The north limb sample, taken via large-diameter reverse-circulation drilling, contained 40 diamonds weighing one carat or more. The largest stones include a 3.43-carat white/colourless transparent octahedral twin with no inclusions, a 3.23-carat grey, translucent irregular with inclusions; a 2.84-carat white/colourless, transparent octahedron with no inclusions; a 2.57-carat white/colourless, transparent broken irregular shape with no inclusions; and a 2.14-carat off-white, transparent tetrahexahedron with no inclusions.

A valuation of the Kelvin stones by WWW International Diamond Consultants is under way should be completed by late October. Once Kennady has that information, it will be used to prepare a resource statement for Kelvin.

The company is aiming to identify a resource of 13 to 16 million tonnes grading between 2 and 2.5 carats per tonne within the Kelvin-Faraday kimberlite corridor at Kennady North. The project is adjacent to De Beers and Mountain Province Diamonds’ (TSX: MPV; NYSE: MDM) Gahcho Kué mine.

—This article originally appeared in the November issue of Diamonds in Canada.