Clarification (July 19, 2004)

Our last issue was not sufficiently clear about the relationship between De Beers and Band-Ore Resources (BAN-T) at the latter’s GQ diamond property near Wawa, Ont.

While De Beers continues to have no ownership interest or option agreement at the GQ property, the major did offer, in November 2003, to process Band-Ore’s bulk samples from GQ at no cost to the junior.

Following crushing in Wawa, De Beers processed 54 tonnes of volcanic breccia from GQ at its bulk-sampling facility in Grande Prairie, Alta., and then recovered diamonds at its laboratories in Johannesburg, South Africa. There, they were subjected to further work, including luminescence and magnetic-susceptibility testing, infra-red measurements and breakage studies.

Results were released in April, with the best one coming from a 22.1-tonne sample of the Engagement Zone East, which yielded 12 diamonds weighing a total of only 0.375 carat.