‘Rock stars’ recharge the diamond industry
Exciting discoveries by Arctic Star geologists Buddy Doyle and Roy Spencer
Why haven’t we seen a major diamond discovery since the 1990’s? What does it take for the industry to find diamonds in today’s conditions? Truth is, the sector has been slowly dying since the 2008 global financial crisis, with only a limited number of diamond mines around the world still operating.
Many diamond mines have dropped out or are projected to change course because of funding issues. The Argyle Mine in Western Australia, the largest producer of diamonds by volume, is expected to close in 2020. Similarly, Siberia’s Mir mine, one of mankind’s largest excavated holes recently closed – leaving a nice opportunity in the diamond sector.
This unsteady market has created an influx of junior companies rushing to enter the sector with very little capital and limited experience.
Not a good idea. To find diamonds you need know-how coupled with funds. In the diamond industry, that’s almost as rare as finding a diamond in the rough.
The sad reality is that most juniors jump in with high hopes of finding something valuable, convince the fundraisers that they’re are sitting on a good thing, then crash and burn after the money runs out.
The lack of major diamond discoveries in the past three decades has weakened the industry’s confidence and markets. A major world-class discovery is needed to recharge the sector. And Arctic Star Exploration (ADD.V) may have the golden key…and the diamonds!
With a 100% fully paid up property, the company is led by world-class geologists Buddy Doyle and Roy Spencer. This dynamic duo has 68 years’ combined experience under their tool belts, not to mention some major discoveries.
During the mid-90s. Doyle led the team that discovered the Diavik diamond deposits in northern Canada – a mine that produces 7 million carats of diamonds annually. Around the same time, Spencer, a De Beers veteran, helped discover the multi-billion-dollar Grib kimberlites in northwest Russia, one of the world’s largest deposits.
In 2003, he also discovered the Lentiira kimberlite cluster in central Finland, located 450km SE from Arctic Star’s 243-hectare Timantti exploration.
The 3 Wolves – a howling success
Arctic Star Exploration is currently pulling kimberlites and diamonds out of the ground in three areas sitting 300 meters apart (The 3 Wolves). This kimberlite cluster was found by using ground geophysics, then excavator till sampling, which included including 20 samples of 50 metric pounds, approximately 600 meters deep. The find yielded four diamond-bearing kimberlites. Bingo!
Kimberlites are likely to occur in fields, which commonly contain 30 or more separate kimberlites so it is likely there are more kimberlites to come.
This all shows strong possibilities.
The Wolf kimberlites are just the first discoveries in a more extensive cluster. Arctic Star tested the quality of the diamonds as well. They found one of the Wolves (White Wolf) especially exciting, yielding approximately 7 carats/T and 60% white stones (anything over 30% is good). A larger sample is needed for a more accurate result, but these random micro-tests are looking excellent.
On the capital market side, ADD.V closed at .085 cents on March 25th, an extremely fair price for a potential discovery of this calibre. Considering last week’s 27% increase mid-week, it seems that today’s sophisticated diamond investors are finally realizing the potential of this opportunity. If we were in the 1990s, when consumer confidence was high, this stock would surely have been around the $3 mark.
Also impressive is the impact on the stock market of a fully-paid property with a strong discovery potential. That means the mine is ready to pay out now. No debt overhang for the infrastructure, or years of exploring. Plus, of course, 100% owned property means 100% paid property and profits are the next step.
While these discoveries unfold, the stock is not going to stay at .085 cents for long. We may find that we’re not only sitting on a diamond mine, but also a golden stock.
Arctic Star’s discovery is just what the diamond industry needs to bring back investment confidence. Not only could we find amazing rare gems to bring to market, but the way is also open for the next world-class discovery to stimulate the diamond industry.
Thanks Buddy and Roy.
Disclaimer:
*Content found herein is not investment advice. This is a journalistic article and the author is not a registered securities advisor, and opinions expressed should not be considered as investment advice to buy or sell securities, but rather journalistic opinion only. Technical mining terms used by the writer may be used/expressed in simplified layman terms and should not be relied upon as appropriate for making investment decisions unless the reader contacts the company directly for independent verification. *Estimates of potential made by the mining analyst and journal(s) are non 43-101 and not from the Company.
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Isabelle Arsenault
Media Relations
MomentumPR
- Published in Arctic Star Exploration, Diamond Discovery, Mining