BHP Billiton Diamonds has begun a drilling campaign on Majescor Resources‘ (MAJ-V) Portage diamond project in the Otish Mountain region of northern Quebec.
The holes are designed to test 10 to 20 geophysical anomalies defined by a 8,500-line-km high-resolution airborne survey flown last year. Currently, a detailed ground geophysics program is delineating each anomaly for drilling.
BHP Billiton Diamonds, a wholly owned subsidiary of BHP Billiton (BHP-N), struck a deal with Majescor last summer to earn up to a 56% interest in the Portage property by funding all costs through to production. In addition, BHP transferred its 520-sq.-km land position in the area to the joint venture.
Earlier this year, the two received microprobe results from detailed till sampling completed last fall at Portage. The overall mineral chemistry of the kimberlite indicators suggests the presence of diamondiferous source rocks. Some 30% of the pyrope garnets fall in the G10 field, with more than three-quarters containing more than 8 wt% Cr2O3. The ilmenite grains compositions are typical of kimberlitic ilmenite, with elevated Cr2O3and MgO contents.
The diamond inclusion composition chromite grains indicate that kimberlite has potentially sampled diamondiferous mantle. Olivine is abundant and is consistent with derivation from kimberlite. A few chrome diopsides were also recovered.
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