Diamonds North scours eastern Nunavut

Following up on promising kimberlite indicator mineral chemistry, Diamonds North Resources (DDN-V) has joined the diamond hunt in eastern Nunavut.

Last fall, the company staked a large block of claims covering 1,693 sq. km, about 45 km south of Kugaaruk (formerly known as Pelly Bay) and 320 km southwest of Stornoway Diamond‘s (SWY-V) promising Aviat kimberlite discovery. Regional sampling had revealed multiple anomalous areas. One sample contained an impressive 1,350 kimberlite indicator mineral grains, including peridotitic and eclogitic garnets, chromite, chrome diopside and ilmenite. Diamonds North President Mark Kolebaba believes there is potential for multiple sources based on the sample distribution and indicator minerals recovered.

Outside of the wholly owned central core block, Diamonds North has teamed with the Canadian diamond exploration division of BHP Billiton (BHP-N) to acquire 3.3 million acres (13,520 sq. km) of surrounding ground. This large land package, consisting of exploration permits and staked claims, will be explored on a 50-50 basis, with BHP acting as project operator. BHP Billiton will have the right to earn an additional 5%, 10% or 15% by solely funding the first 200-tonne, 1,000-tonne and 3,000-tonne bulk samples, respectively.

The land within the joint venture covers several anomalous areas, based on sampling conducted independently by Diamonds North and BHP.

Diamonds North will launch an airborne geophysical survey over high-priority areas on its wholly owned property, with sampling and prospecting to follow.

Other companies with ground in the surrounding area include De Beers Canada Exploration, a division of South Africa’s De Beers, with separate parcels out to the northwest and southwest. Rio Tinto‘s (RTP-N) subsidiary, Kennecott Canada Exploration, has a property package to the south, as does Randy Turner’s Diamondex Resources (DSP-V). In addition, BHP Billiton has several wholly owned claims.

In early February, the Nunavut Mining Recorder issued a record 1,518 prospecting permits covering 64 million acres (259,000 sq. km) across Canada’s Far North. Among the big winners was the Canadian exploration arm of De Beers, which tied up more 28 million acres (113,535 sq. km) of new permits. In addition, BHP Billiton Diamonds acquired 16.4 million acres (66,190 sq. km), Stornoway added 5.5 million acres (22,298 sq. km) to its holdings, and Kennecott Canada Exploration picked up (8,406 sq. km).