3.3-carat diamond pulled from Renard 9

Ashton Mining of Canada (ACA-T) and Quebec government-owned Soquem are recovering large-carat diamonds from relatively small sample batches at the Foxtrot project in north-central Quebec.

A 3.26-carat stone, described as a grey-coloured, translucent composite, was recently pulled from a 6-tonne mini-bulk sample of the Renard 9 kimberlite. In total, 5.56 carats of diamonds exceeding a 1.18-mm cutoff were recovered from the sample, the average grade being 0.92 carat per tonne. (If the 3.26-carat stone is excluded, the sample grade falls to 0.38 carat per tonne.) The second-biggest stone in the parcel is a clear, pale-brown irregular weighing 0.68 carat.

Renard 9, discovered early in 2003, had shown potential for large stones based on the initial microdiamond results from the discovery holes. A 212-kg sample of kimberlitic material from three drill holes had returned an impressive 178 microdiamonds. The largest stone was a pale brown composite crystal weighing 0.11 carat, caught in the 1.7-to-2.36-mm sieve size fraction. (Table 1 shows caustic fusion microdiamond results.)

Renard 9 is 50 metres south of Renard 4 and covered entirely by water. The 6-tonne sample was collected in the winter of 2004. Drilling suggests the Renard 9 body is 160 metres long by 25-55 metres wide.

Ashton believes Renard 9 could add significantly to the core area’s potential. In 2004, as part of a major campaign to recover at least 300 carats of diamonds for valuation purposes, the partners undertook a comprehensive bulk-sampling and drilling program on the Renard 2, 3, 4 and 65 bodies. The four pipes form a higher-grade core area at the southern end of a 2-km-long cluster of nine diamond-bearing bodies, in the south-central part of the 2,000-sq.-km Foxtrot property. A sixth body in the core area, known as Renard 8, was discovered in late 2002, 150 metres south of Renard 65. It showed weak results, returning only nine microdiamonds in a 112-kg sample of the discovery holes.

The partners exceeded their original 300-carat goal by recovering 457 carats of diamonds from the 664 tonnes of sampled kimberlite material. The samples were collected from the drilling of 50 core holes and 23 large-diameter reverse-circulation (RC) holes on Renard 2, 3, 4 and 65. Twenty-five of the recovered diamonds weigh more than 1 carat apiece, including eight that exceed 2 carats. The five largest diamonds weigh 4.3, 2.9, 2.7, 2.3 and 2.3 carats. The 4.3-carat and one of the 2.3-carat stones are described as clear, colourless octahedrons. (Bulk-sample results for each of the Renard 2, 3, 4, 65 and 9 bodies are provided in Table 2.)

The valuation of the diamond parcel is planned for early April. In the meantime, the joint-venture partners are trying to define Renard 2, 3 and 4, the three bodies thus far with the highest estimated grade. Additional drilling is planned for Renard 9.

Based on a model prepared on behalf of the joint venture by Wardrop Engineering, the Renard 2, 3, 4 and 65 bodies contain a potential 17.7 million tonnes of kimberlitic material. (Table 3 summarizes the tonnage estimates and drill data.) More than 90% of the modeled tonnage occurs within 200 metres of surface. Kimberlite has been encountered to depths of at least 280 metres in each of the four bodies.

Renard 9 had shown potential for large stones based on the initial microdiamond results from the discovery holes.

Table 1: Microdiamond Results for Discovery Holes on Renard 9 and 8

Table 2: 2004 Bulk Sampling Results

Table 3: Estimated Tonnage

KimberliticSizeDimensionsTonnage#Drill