K252 yields 0.55 carat per tonne

Vancouver — A 22.8-tonne, mini-bulk sample collected by Ashton Mining of Canada (ACA-T) from the K252 kimberlite in north-central Alberta has returned a diamond count of 55 carats per 100 tonnes.

The sample was collected from three reverse-circulation drill holes collared near the centre of the kimberlite, which was discovered in March 2000. The pipe shows two distinct phases — an upper, fine-to-medium-grained volcaniclastic kimberlite and an underlying kimberlite breccia. Both phases were intersected in each hole. In one hole, they were beneath a depth of 74.1 metres of overburden, in another, they were beneath 69.5 metres and in the third they were beneath 74.7 metres.

The 22.8-tonne sample consisted of 13.4 tonnes of volcaniclastic kimberlite and 9.4 tonnes of kimberlite breccia. The volcaniclastic portion delivered 4.51 carats of macrodiamonds (greater the 8 mm in size), yielding a diamond content of 33.7 carats per 100 tonnes. The breccia yielded 8.03 carats averaging 85.4 carats per 100 tonnes.

The largest diamond recovered was a 0.94-carat, colourless composite crystal derived from the breccia. The second-largest, a colourless 0.65-carat stone, was recovered from the volcaniclastic phase. The next six largest diamonds had weights ranging from 0.17 to 0.28 carat.

The drilling and mini-bulk sampling programs carried out thus far on K252 have proved insufficient to define a mineral resource or to allow a potential grade calculation. Ashton plans to recommend a program of geotechnical studies and financial analysis to identify preliminary economic thresholds for diamond content and value. This would be followed by delineation drilling and the collection of a larger sample.

Geophysical data and the results from 12 drill holes indicate that K252 is approximately 2 ha in size. To date, 34 kimberlites have been discovered there, 24 of which are diamondiferous.

The Buffalo Hills property is held 45% by Ashton, 45% by Alberta Energy (AEC-T) and 10% by Pure Gold Minerals (PUG-T).