11,088 diamonds liberated from 356 dry tones for an overall diamond recovery of 0.95 carats per tonne
Stornoway Diamond Corporation (SWY:TSX) and Shear Minerals Ltd. (SRM:TSXV) today announced that processing of the minibulk sample from the Kahuna kimberlite at the Churchill Diamond Project in Nunavut is complete with 11,088 diamonds greater than 0.85 mm recovered from a total sample of 356 dry tonnes for an overall diamond grade of 0.95 carats per tonne.
The minibulk sample, collected earlier this year, yielded 337 carats of diamonds with preliminary observation describing the majority as white and colourless. The five largest stones were 5.44, 2.05, 1.54, 1.44 and 1.32 carats. Several of the larger stones are interpreted to be broken fragments of a larger diamond estimated to have been up to 14 carats in weight.
"With these final results, overall grade has risen and we recovered large diamonds," says Shear President and CEO Pamela Strand. "This 337 carat parcel provides us with a more representative sample of the Kahuna diamond population that will be used to estimate a preliminary diamond value early in 2008. The results from that exercise will help determine the next steps for Kahuna and the continued evaluation of the Churchill diamond project."
Today's diamond results are from three spatially separate surface samples collected by trenching along the Kahuna kimberlite dyke in March and April of 2007. Sample grades are based on diamonds recovered on a 0.85mm sieve size or larger (using a square mesh). The Kahuna kimberlite is a 2.8m to 4m wide vertical kimberlite dyke that trends for more than 5.5km based on geophysical interpretation.
|
Sample Number
|
Sample Weight Dry (tonnes)
|
Diamond Recovery
Carats per tonne (+0.85mm)
|
Weight of Diamonds Recovered (carats)
(+0.85mm)
|
Number of stones +0.85
mm
|
0.85
mm Sieve
|
1.18
mm Sieve
|
1.70
mm Sieve
|
2.36
mm Sieve
|
3.35
mm Sieve
|
4.75
mm Sieve
|
6.70
mm Sieve
|
|
Kahuna - Sample 11
|
98.13
|
1.03
|
100.80
|
3,582
|
1,737
|
1,528
|
263
|
48
|
6
|
0
|
0
|
|
Kahuna - Sample 32
|
151.63
|
0.94
|
142.35
|
4,267
|
2,015
|
1,850
|
302
|
76
|
20
|
3
|
1
|
|
Kahuna - Sample 23
|
106.57
|
0.88
|
93.54
|
3,239
|
1,609
|
1,374
|
203
|
40
|
13
|
0
|
0
|
|
Total Kahuna
|
356.33
|
0.95
|
336.69
|
11,088
|
5,499
|
4,772
|
773
|
165
|
39
|
3
|
1
|
1 Largest diamond 0.98 carats
2 Largest diamonds 5.44, 2.05, 1.54, 1.44, and 1.32 carats; as reported in November 14, 2007 news release
3 Largest diamonds 1.39, 1.19 and 0.73 carats; as reported in September 8, 2007 news release
Sample results are based on the recovery of diamonds by dense media separation (DMS) at Kennecott Canada Exploration Inc.'s independent processing plant in Thunder Bay, ON, using a 1mm square mesh bottom cut off. Kahuna Samples 1 and 3 were crushed; Sample 2 required no crushing as the kimberlite was pervasively clay altered. A 135kg and 672.8kg heavy mineral concentrate was generated from Samples 1 and 3 respectively and then passed through an x-ray sorter and picked for diamonds. Diamonds were also recovered during an audit of the magnetic fractions and x-ray rejects resulting in the treatment of these fractions by caustic fusion analysis.
The Churchill Diamond Project is owned 41.86% by Stornoway and 58.14% by Shear and is comprised of the diamond rights to more than two million acres located near the communities of Rankin Inlet and Chesterfield Inlet in the Kivalliq region of Nunavut. Work is presently focused on continued exploration of new promising indicator mineral trains and geophysical anomalies as well as the evaluation of four significantly diamond-bearing, vertically-emplaced kimberlite dykes that have returned sample grades of up to 2.18 carats per tonne. The 2007 field program was operated by Shear and is under the supervision of Jennifer Burgess, P. Geol., a Qualified Person under NI 43-101.
On behalf of the Board
STORNOWAY DIAMOND CORPORATION
/s/ "Eira Thomas"
Eira Thomas
Chief Executive Officer