Rhonda raises $1.8m for diamond exploration

Determined to explore a large land position in the heart of the Coronation diamond district in Nunavut, Rhonda (RDM-V) has raised $1.8 million in a public financing arranged through Canaccord Capital and Boulder Investment Partners.

The offering consisted of just over 4.6 million flow-through and non-flow-through units priced at 43 each. Each type of unit consists of one common share and a warrant. It will take two warrants to buy an additional share at 50, which can be done over 12 months.

Rhonda is awaiting macrodiamond results from a 9-tonne drill sample De Beers collected in the spring 2001 from the Knife pipe, 80 km south of Coronation Gulf. De Beers discovered the 6-hectare pipe in 2000 and recovered 208 microdiamonds and nine macrodiamonds from 397 kg of tested core. (A macro is defined here as measuring greater than 0.5 mm in at least one dimension.) Delineation drilling has confirmed the pipe’s dimensions as being 390 by 230 metres.

De Beers is earning a 70% interest in the 10-sq.-km Knife property by spending $10 million on exploration over six years. Rhonda will retain a 30% stake carried to production.

Rhonda also holds a 100% interest in 325 sq. km of adjoining ground, called the Inulik property, which it has held for many years and which it has previously explored for base metals. Last summer, it completed a first pass of glacial till sampling across the property, collecting 571 till samples. These samples continue to be processed for kimberlite indicator minerals. Results should be available prior to the end of the first quarter.