DIAMOND PAGE — Kennecott discovers kimberlite on Ice

Halfway through a $4.1-million drilling campaign that is testing 30-35 targets on ground shared with Tahera (TAH-T), Kennecott Canada Exploration has made its first kimberlite find.

A vertically drilled hole encountered the kimberlite, dubbed Vega, at a depth of 23 metres on the eastern end of the Ice claims, 80 km south of Tahera’s Jericho project and 60 km northwest of the Ekati diamond mine in the Northwest Territories.

Kennecott will continue drilling the discovery hole to a depth of 200 metres, kimberlite permitting, before stepping out with several planned delineation holes. Initial microdiamond results should be available in the next few weeks. Four kimberlites previously have been discovered on the Ice claims, including the low-grade Ranch Lake pipe, 20 km southeast of the new Vega find. In 1993, a 28.45-tonne mini-bulk drill sample of Ranch Lake yielded 112 diamonds totalling 5.384 carats, giving an indicated grade of 0.189 carat per tonne.

Kennecott began its 1999 spring drilling program on the Hood River property, north of the Jericho project, before moving on to the Ice and Rockinghorse properties. The Rio Tinto (RTP-N) subsidiary is expected to continue drilling until mid-May. Four to five targets remain to be tested on the Ice Claims, while drilling is progressing at Rockinghorse.

Kennecott can earn a half-interest in the three properties by spending $50 million over eight years.

In the meantime, Tahera is about halfway through its own exploration drilling program at its wholly owned Jericho project, where four to five targets, in and around the JD pipes, remain to be tested.