Canadian Diamond Exploration Companies Have Reason for Optimism
Canadian Diamond Exploration Companies Have Reason for Optimism
Diamonds are associated with fine jewelry, but they are also the hardest natural minerals on earth. This property makes them highly prized for industrial cutting and polishing functions. Approximately 26,000 kilograms of them are mined worldwide annually. Whether they are found in Africa, Australia or in Canada, all of the world’s diamonds were born in exactly the same fashion.
How Diamonds were Formed
The circumstances leading up to the birth of the stones we call diamonds started about 3.2 billion years ago. At that time continents were forming on the Earth’s surface. Hundreds of kilometers below the surface, however, conditions were quite different. At pressures 50,000 times higher than the surface atmospheric conditions and temperatures reaching up to 1,300°C, new crystals with a lattice structure began to take shape.
The diamonds were formed in molten rock found between 125-200 kilometres below the surface. Some of the rarer stones originated at levels up to 400 kilometers down. When volcanic eruptions pushed magma up through the earth’s mantle toward the surface, the process was too rapid for the diamond’s crystal structure to degrade into graphite. As the volcanoes cooled over time, the diamonds remained locked inside immense cones of kimberlite (solid magma).
Diamond Exploration and Drilling
Kimberlites are relatively small (they generally have a surface area of less than 12 hectares), making them challenging to find. Their molten rock picks up other minerals along with diamonds. These kimberlitic indicator minerals rise to the surface and provide clues to the presence of diamonds.
Once kimberlite is located, tons of rock is collected from the top of the pipe and processed. Extracting this material to look for diamonds from the ground is not an easy process, since kimberlite tends to wear down more quickly than most of the rock surrounding it. As a result this creates depressions over the kimberlite pipes. The pipes fill up with water and glacial debris, which makes it difficult to get to the kimberlite.
If kimberlite is located, however, further diamond drilling and analysis must be conducted to learn about the extent of the deposit and its diamond content.
Diamond Mining in Canada
Canada is the fourth-largest diamond producer in the world. The country has active mines in the Northwest Territories and in Northern Ontario.
- The Diavik Mine is located about 190 miles north of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. Rio Tinto owns a 60 percent interest in, and operates the mine, which produces between six and seven million carats of large, “Gem-quality” diamonds annually. Harry Winston Diamond Mines owns the other 40 percent of the operation.
- The Ekati Mine has the distinction of being Canada’s first surface and underground mine. It is located in the Northwest Territories’ Lac de Gras region, about 300 kilometers northeast of Yellowknife. The mine has a reputation for producing high-quality gem diamonds. Its total cumulative production to January 2016 was approximately 63 million carats.
- The Victor Mine is located in the James Bay Lowlands of Northern Ontario, approximately 90 kilometers from the community of Attawapiskat First Nation. This open pit mine is Ontario’s first diamond mine and produces 600,000 carats annually.
- Gahcho Kué is situated 280 kilometres northeast of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories and is Canada’s newest mine. One of the 10 largest mines in the world, it is expected to produce 4.5 million carats annually.
Canadian Diamond Exploration and Development
Currently, Canadian exploration companies are actively pursuing several projects. In January 2017, Kennady Diamonds announced diamond recovery results of 2.18 carats per tonne of kimberlite from its Kennady North Project in the Northwest Territories. The property is situated immediately adjacent to the Gahcho Kué mine.
DeBeers Canada announced that it will continue its search for diamonds in northern Saskatchewan in the fall of 2016. The company is involved in exploring a site north of the decommissioned Cluff Lake uranium mine. It optioned the site in May 2016 and can invest up to $20.4 million in four stages over a seven-year period. If the company completes all of the stages, it could earn a 90 percent stake in the property. The next step is to drill for targets on the 43,000-acre Northwest Athabasca Project site. The drill team is expected to work through the fall and winter months collecting samples.
Buddy Doyle (VP Exploration, Director at Arctic Star Exploration (ADD:tsxv) has 25 years experience in mineral exploration. He worked for Rio Tinto PLC for over 23 years, most recently he was Exploration Manager/Vice President of Kennecott Canada Exploration Inc. (owned by Rio Tinto), in charge of diamond exploration in North America. He was a key member of the Kennecott Exploration Australia team that discovered the multi-million ounce Minifie gold deposits at Lihir in 1987-1988 and led the team which discovered the Diavik diamond deposits in 1994-1995. Few geologists have seen 2 projects from discovery through to decision to mine. Arctic Star’s Diagras Property might prove to be his next world class discovery.
From Arctic Star’s website, “The Diagras Property consists of 23 contiguous claims staked by Arctic Star, with an area of 18,699 hectares. The property is in joint venture with Margaret Lake Diamonds whereby Margaret Lake has earned a 60{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} interest. The property is located in the north-eastern part of the prolific Lac de Gras kimberlite field, 22km NNE of the Diavik diamond mine and 36km east of the Ekati diamond mine in NWT Canada. The Company has verified through research and compilation that the property hosts over a dozen kimberlites, most of them diamondiferous. Arctic Star’s research and compilation of historical data in the public domain confirms that Diagras is a property of merit that deserves additional exploration.” For more information, click here
- Published in Arctic Star Exploration, Blog, Mining
Arctic Star applies for drilling permits for Cap
Arctic Star Exploration Corp. has begun permitting for a drill program on the company’s wholly owned Cap property, which is located approximately 80 kilometres northwest of Prince George, B.C.
The company acquired the Cap property in 2010 for its potential to host rare metal deposits (niobium and tantalum) and/or rare earth elements. These commodities have undergone a dramatic shift in demand, owing in part to their usage in the green energy sector, which includes modern wind turbines, rechargeable batteries, catalytic convertors and more.
The Cap property is within the central parts of the Rocky Mountain rare metal belt; it encompasses six claims (one new) totalling 2,825 hectares (6,980 acres) and is about 50 km southwest of the Wicheeda REE carbonatite. During 2008 and 2009, the Main zone at Wicheeda was drill tested with 15 drill holes at three sites.
Highlights included:
- 2008-02: 3.55 per cent REE across 48.64 metres;
- 2009-07: 2.92 per cent REE across 72 metres;
- 2009-09: 2.2 per cent REE across 144 metres.
The property was originally staked to cover an approximately three- to five-kilometre-diameter, circular, airborne magnetic geophysical anomaly, which is believed to represent a carbonatite (or similar intrusion) at depth. A brief field examination during September, 2010, identified two narrow syenite dikes, near the crest of the ridge that trends from northwest to southeast across the property. The dikes contained highly anomalous geochemistry, including 481 to 981 parts per million niobium, 1,125 to 3,191 parts per million zirconium, greater than 100 parts per million lanthanum, greater than 100 parts per million cerium and greater than 50 parts per million neodymium. These high-level dikes indicate that the source of the magnetic geophysical anomaly may be associated with a carbonatite or similar intrusion.
More recently, a single contiguous claim was staked to cover a newly discovered rare metal occurrence, which includes a thin fenite dike, which is typically indicative of proximity to a larger alkaline intrusive body. Two historical samples returned strongly anomalous values of rare earth elements (0.13 and 0.10 per cent REE).
Geologically, the Cap property has similar potential to the known carbonatite complexes worldwide. Carbonatite-related deposits are a major host for rare metals, such as niobium and tantalum, and rare earth elements. The world’s largest niobium mine, Araxa in Brazil, and several of the world’s largest rare earth element deposits, including Lynas Corp.’s Mount Weld deposit in Australia and Molycorp’s Mountain Pass deposit in the United States, are all hosted by carbonatites. Geologically similar exploration projects include Hudson Resources Inc.’s Sarfartoq carbonatite project in Greenland and Rare Element Resources Ltd.’s Bear Lodge carbonatite project in Wyoming.
Darren L. Smith, MSc, PGeol, Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release.
© 2017 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.
- Published in Arctic Star Exploration, Mining, News Home
Arctic Star Permitting Drill Program on Cap Property
Arctic Star Permitting Drill Program on Cap Property
– Momentum Public Relations –
Press Release: January 17, 2017
Arctic Star Exploration Corp, (TSXV: ADD) (“Arctic Star” or the “Company”) is pleased to report that it has begun permitting for a drill program on the company’s wholly owned CAP Property, which is located approximately 80 km northwest of Prince George, British Columbia.
The company acquired the CAP Property in 2010 for it’s potential to host rare metal deposits (Nb, Ta) and/or rare earth elements (REE). These commodities have undergone a dramatic shift in demand owing in part to their usage in the green energy sector, which includes modern wind turbines, rechargeable batteries, catalytic convertors, and more.
The CAP Property is within the central parts of the Rocky Mountain Rare Metal belt; it encompasses six claims (one new) totaling 2,825 ha (6,980 acres) and is about 50 km southwest of the Wicheeda REE Carbonatite. During 2008 and 2009, the Main zone at Wicheeda was drill tested with 15 drill holes at three sites. Highlights included:
- 2008-02: 3.55 per cent REE across 48.64 metres;
- 2009-07: 2.92 per cent REE across 72 metres; and
- 2009-09: 2.2 per cent REE across 144 metres.
The property was originally staked to cover an approximately three- to five-kilometre-diameter, circular, airborne magnetic geophysical anomaly, which is believed to represent a carbonatite (or similar intrusion) at depth. A brief field examination during September, 2010, identified two narrow, syenite dikes near the crest of the ridge that trends from northwest to southeast across the property. The dikes contained highly anomalous geochemistry, including 481 to 981 parts per million niobium, 1,125 to 3,191 parts per million zirconium, greater than 100 parts per million lanthanum, greater than 100 parts per million cerium and greater than 50 parts per million neodymium. These high-level dikes indicate that the source of the magnetic geophysical anomaly may be associated with a carbonatite, or similar intrusion.
More recently, a single contiguous claim was staked to cover a newly discovered rare metal occurrence, which includes a thin fenite dyke, which is typically indicative of proximity to a larger alkaline intrusive body. Two historic samples returned strongly anomalous values of Rare Earth Elements (0.13 and 0.10{92d3d6fd85a76c012ea375328005e518e768e12ace6b1722b71965c2a02ea7ce} REE’s).
Geologically, the Cap Property has similar potential to the known carbonatite complexes worldwide. Carbonatite-related deposits are a major host for rare metals, such as niobium and tantalum, and rare earth elements. The world’s largest niobium mine, Araxa in Brazil, and several of the world’s largest rare earth element deposits, including Lynas Corporation’s Mt. Weld deposit in Australia and Molycorp’s Mountain Pass deposit in the United States, are all hosted by carbonatites. Geologically similar exploration projects include Hudson Resources Inc.’s Sarfartoq carbonatite project in Greenland and Rare Element Resources Ltd.’s Bear Lodge carbonatite project in Wyoming.
Darren L. Smith, MSc, PGeol, Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF
ARCTIC STAR EXPLORATION CORP.
“Patrick Power”
Patrick Power, President
(604) 689-1799
- Published in Arctic Star Exploration, Mining, News Home
Arctic Star contracts Momentum for investor relations
Arctic Star Exploration Corp. has retained Momentum Public Relations Inc. (MomentumPR) to provide on-line investor relations services to the company.
MomentumPR, a Quebec-based company, is a public, investor and media relations agency serving publicly traded companies listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and specializes in launching target awareness campaigns for small- and medium-sized public companies.
Momentum will assist Arctic Star in increasing public awareness of the company by managing the company’s corporate communications and marketing activities, and facilitating dialogue with the company’s shareholders, finance professionals, analysts and media contacts.
The principal of MomentumPR is Max Gagne. Mr. Gagne owns 400,000 shares and 400,000 warrants of the company. The agreement with MomentumPR is for six months commencing Jan. 1, 2017. Momentum will be paid a fixed fee of $30,000 plus any applicable taxes, payable at the beginning of the contract period. MomentumPR has also been granted 300,000 stock options exercisable for five years at a price of 8.5 cents. The agreement with MomentumPR is subject to approval by the TSX Venture Exchange.
© 2017 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.
- Published in Arctic Star Exploration, Mining, News Home
Arctic Star 22.46-million-share private placement
The TSX Venture Exchange has accepted for filing documentation with respect to a non-brokered private placement announced on Oct. 12, 2016.
Number of shares: 22.46 million shares
Purchase price: six cents per share
Warrants: 22.46 million share purchase warrants to purchase 22.46 million shares
Warrant initial exercise price: eight cents
Warrant term to expiry: two years
Number of placees: 36 placees
Insiders: B.J. Financial Accounting Consultants Inc. (Brijender Jassal), 500,000 shares; 0800025 B.C. Ltd. (Patrick Power), 3.75 million shares; Thomas Yingling, one million shares; Lithosphere Services Inc. (Buddy Doyle), 2.45 million shares; William Ferreira, one million shares
Aggregate pro group involvement: 550,000 shares (two placees)
Finders’ fees: Canaccord Genuity Corp., $21,600 cash, 760,000 warrants; PI Financial Corp., $3,600 cash
Finder warrant initial exercise price: six cents
Finder warrant term to expiry: Each warrant is exercisable into one share at six cents per share until Dec. 29, 2018.
Note that in certain circumstances the exchange may later extend the expiry date of the warrants if they are less than the maximum permitted term.
© 2017 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.
- Published in Arctic Star Exploration, Mining, News Home