Diagem recovers 888 diamonds from property 108

The latest 120-cubic-metre bulk sample derived from test pit no. 7 on Diagem International‘s (DGM-V) property 108 has returned 888 diamonds weighing in at 75.45 carats.

The largest stone measures 2.05 carats.

The stones were recovered from gravels close to the Sao Luiz River, in the southwestern portion of the property in the Juina province in Brazil’s Mato Grosso state.

Results from test pits nos. 8 and 9, and submission of a final exploration report to the Brazilian mining authority are expected shortly.

Exploration on the 108 property, comprising 100 sq. km, has been sporadic over the past five years; however, large alluvial deposits have been delineated, and numerous geophysical and geochemical targets, thought to represent kimberlite, have been defined. Diagem is evaluating the alluvial gravels using a moveable, 10-cubic-metre-per-hour processing plant to sample 15 large test pits

The first test pit returned 56 diamonds weighing 39 carats, including five stones exceeding 1 carat and one that was 16 carats.

With $1.5 million in hand form a recent financing, Diagem is preparing to launch the next phase of work on property 213. Within the next three weeks the company will begin processing material from the Sorriso River and Chicorria Creek areas using two plants with a capacity of 35 cubic metres per hour.

The waterways drain an area hosting five little-tested, known diamondiferous kimberlite pipes, dubbed the Chicorria Cluster. Previous test samples from the pipes returned micro and macrodiamonds.

Elsewhere in the region, Diagem recently recovered 35 diamonds, including one stone weighing 4.2 carats, from a 25-cubic-metre sample from surface gravels immediately overlying the ARP-1 kimberlite on the 1000 property. The property is held 51% by Diagem and 49% by its partner Juina Mining.

In afternoon trade on the TSX Venture Exchange, Diagem’s shares were 4 or 22% higher at 22.