Post by irishpack on May 4, 2005 19:13:43 GMT -5
www.nipawinjournal.com/story.php?id=158893
High diamond values in Fort a la Corne makes mine more feasible
BY ROBERT ARNASON
Journal Reporter
Wednesday May 04, 2005
Kirsten Marcia examines a Fort a la Corne diamond. (Photo courtesy Shore Gold)
Nipawin Journal — Diamond deposit worth may be $6 billion
High diamond values in Fort a la Corne makes mine more feasible
BY ROBERT ARNASON
Journal Reporter
“Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.”<br>-- Confucius.
Shore Gold, a Saskatoon based mining company, doesn't have to worry about flawed diamonds anymore. This winter they sent a parcel of their diamonds to Belgium for evaluation, when the results came back in late February they were ecstatic.
"We were hoping for $100 (U.S.) per carat, that we got $135 (U.S.) is fantastic for the project," said Kirsten Marcia, a geologist with Shore Gold. "The global average of diamond mines is $70 (U.S.) per carat."
Marcia and George Sanders, vice president-corporate development with Shore Gold, presented an update on Shore Gold's Fort a la Corne diamond project at the Nipawin Seniors Centre on April 27. The 100- people in attendance learned that Shore Gold's deposit 75 km west of Nipawin may contain $6 billion of diamonds.
In the spring of 2004 Shore Gold dug a 250-meter shaft on their Fort a la Corne property and began extracting kimberlite (a diamond bearing volcanic deposit). By last fall they had removed 25,000 tonnes of kimberlite and recovered over 3000 carats of diamonds, which were sent to Belgium for valuation. Color, clarity and size are some of the factors that determine the value of diamonds.
"The diamond values (at Fort a la Corne) are higher than in the Northwest Territories, " said Marcia, who added that 70 per cent of the diamonds were white.
Marcia explained to the crowd at the seniors centre that three factors determine the value of a deposit; the tonnage of kimberlite, the grade and the value of the diamonds.
The Shore Gold deposit at Fort a la Corne is huge. One of the kimberlite pipes, named Early Joli Fou, has 240 million tonnes of diamond bearing rock it is one of the largest deposits in the world. In comparison, the Diavik mine in the N.W.T. only has 30 million tonnes of reserves.
However, the grade (concentration of diamonds) of the Shore Gold kimberlite is 15 carat per hundred tonne (cpht), much less than the 800 cpht of Diavik.
While the grade is lower, the huge amount of kimberlite rock and the high value of the diamonds make up for it.
"It's large enough to be a stand alone deposit and a stand alone mine," said Sanders. He added that if a mine is built, there should be diamond mining in the area for the next 40-50 years.
Building a mine is still several years away. The next step in the project is a pre feasibility study. Shore Gold will spend the next 24 months drilling holes in a grid, 100 metres apart. The extensive drilling is needed to verify that diamonds are plentiful across the entire deposit.
The company also needs to calculate the cost to construct and operate the mine. Marcia told the crowd at the Seniors Centre that the potential mine has a huge cost advantage because the site is not in the middle of the jungle, or like the Diavik mine, in the middle of a lake.
"We actually ordered a pizza to the site, just to prove that we can," she said.
In addition to the good news regarding the value of their diamonds, Shore Gold's finances got a boost this winter. In late February Newmont Mining invested $50 million into Shore Gold.
"They (Newmont) are the largest precious metal company in the world," said Sanders
Prior to Newmont's investment, only resource funds and small cap funds were investing in Shore Gold. Having them on board changes the playing field; institutional investors and brokers are now interested in diamond mining in Saskatchewan.
"It opens up a whole new audience. The big guns in mining world are now interested in our diamond project," Sanders said.
High diamond values in Fort a la Corne makes mine more feasible
BY ROBERT ARNASON
Journal Reporter
Wednesday May 04, 2005
Kirsten Marcia examines a Fort a la Corne diamond. (Photo courtesy Shore Gold)
Nipawin Journal — Diamond deposit worth may be $6 billion
High diamond values in Fort a la Corne makes mine more feasible
BY ROBERT ARNASON
Journal Reporter
“Better a diamond with a flaw than a pebble without.”<br>-- Confucius.
Shore Gold, a Saskatoon based mining company, doesn't have to worry about flawed diamonds anymore. This winter they sent a parcel of their diamonds to Belgium for evaluation, when the results came back in late February they were ecstatic.
"We were hoping for $100 (U.S.) per carat, that we got $135 (U.S.) is fantastic for the project," said Kirsten Marcia, a geologist with Shore Gold. "The global average of diamond mines is $70 (U.S.) per carat."
Marcia and George Sanders, vice president-corporate development with Shore Gold, presented an update on Shore Gold's Fort a la Corne diamond project at the Nipawin Seniors Centre on April 27. The 100- people in attendance learned that Shore Gold's deposit 75 km west of Nipawin may contain $6 billion of diamonds.
In the spring of 2004 Shore Gold dug a 250-meter shaft on their Fort a la Corne property and began extracting kimberlite (a diamond bearing volcanic deposit). By last fall they had removed 25,000 tonnes of kimberlite and recovered over 3000 carats of diamonds, which were sent to Belgium for valuation. Color, clarity and size are some of the factors that determine the value of diamonds.
"The diamond values (at Fort a la Corne) are higher than in the Northwest Territories, " said Marcia, who added that 70 per cent of the diamonds were white.
Marcia explained to the crowd at the seniors centre that three factors determine the value of a deposit; the tonnage of kimberlite, the grade and the value of the diamonds.
The Shore Gold deposit at Fort a la Corne is huge. One of the kimberlite pipes, named Early Joli Fou, has 240 million tonnes of diamond bearing rock it is one of the largest deposits in the world. In comparison, the Diavik mine in the N.W.T. only has 30 million tonnes of reserves.
However, the grade (concentration of diamonds) of the Shore Gold kimberlite is 15 carat per hundred tonne (cpht), much less than the 800 cpht of Diavik.
While the grade is lower, the huge amount of kimberlite rock and the high value of the diamonds make up for it.
"It's large enough to be a stand alone deposit and a stand alone mine," said Sanders. He added that if a mine is built, there should be diamond mining in the area for the next 40-50 years.
Building a mine is still several years away. The next step in the project is a pre feasibility study. Shore Gold will spend the next 24 months drilling holes in a grid, 100 metres apart. The extensive drilling is needed to verify that diamonds are plentiful across the entire deposit.
The company also needs to calculate the cost to construct and operate the mine. Marcia told the crowd at the Seniors Centre that the potential mine has a huge cost advantage because the site is not in the middle of the jungle, or like the Diavik mine, in the middle of a lake.
"We actually ordered a pizza to the site, just to prove that we can," she said.
In addition to the good news regarding the value of their diamonds, Shore Gold's finances got a boost this winter. In late February Newmont Mining invested $50 million into Shore Gold.
"They (Newmont) are the largest precious metal company in the world," said Sanders
Prior to Newmont's investment, only resource funds and small cap funds were investing in Shore Gold. Having them on board changes the playing field; institutional investors and brokers are now interested in diamond mining in Saskatchewan.
"It opens up a whole new audience. The big guns in mining world are now interested in our diamond project," Sanders said.
