Microdiamond analysis performed on four of the five kimberlites discovered earlier this summer at the Victoria Island project in the Far North has determined that three of bodies are diamondiferous.
Monopros, the exploration arm of De Beers Consolidated Mines (DBRS-Q), can earn a 51% interest in the 2-million-acre Victoria Island property by spending $2 million on exploration and paying $200,000 over three years, following which property owners Major General Resources (MGJ-V) and Ascot Resources (AOT-V) will each hold a 24.5% share.
De Beers recovered one macrodiamond and eight micros from an 80-kg drill sample of the Longspur kimberlite and 39 micros from a 160-kg sample of the Golden Plover kimberlite. (A macro is defined here as exceeding 1 mm in size.)
The Longspur, Golden Plover and Snowy Owl kimberlites were regarded as higher-priority targets as they were all discovered up-ice of kimberlite indicator mineral occurrences. A diamond count for the Snowy Owl is expected in the next few weeks.
The lower-priority Phalarope kimberlite yielded six micros from a 160-kg sample, whereas no diamonds were found in a 160-kg drill sample of the Whimbrel kimberlite. Samples from all five kimberlite discoveries were collected by reverse-circulation drilling to an average depth of 20 metres.
The kimberlites occur in a cluster measuring roughly 7 km in diameter. The cluster is between 2 and 7 km from the northern border of the adjacent Monopros property, where the De Beers subsidiary has made several diamondiferous kimberlite discoveries containing macros.
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