George H. Read, Senior Vice President Exploration and Development of Star Diamond Corporation has announced that Rio Tinto Exploration Canada (RTEC), Bauer Maschinen GmbH and Nuna Logistics Ltd have finalised
contractural arrangements for the manufacture, supply and operation of equipment to be used for the next phase
of large diameter, bulk sample drilling on the Star Kimberlite. During 2017, Star Diamond granted RTEC an option to earn up to a 60% interest in the Corporation’s Fort à la Corne mineral properties (including the Star-Orion South Diamond Project) on the terms and conditions contained in the Option Agreement.
Recent work has focused on the specific sites for the ten hole locations on the Star Kimberlite and the documentation of the geological units to be encountered in the overburden and kimberlite to be intersected at each location. The proposed locations on the Star Kimberlite have been drill tested with Sonic core in the overburden, and HQ drill core in the kimberlite, to ensure that the overburden and kimberlite stratigraphy is accurately characterised. RTEC will
execute the proposed sampling program.
RTEC aim to use a Bauer BC 50 cutter mounted on a Bauer MC 128 duty-cycle crane to drill and sample to depths of up to 250 m below surface. Each ten metres of advance down hole aims to excavate some 100 t of kimberlite.
Bauer cutter rigs are used around the world for complex engineering projects. Bauer has indicated that this will be the first time in the world that this technology will be used in an active project to reach a depth of 250 m. Bauer
has committed to build and deliver the equipment to RTEC by mid-2018 with drilling to commence this year.
Each of the sample locations will first require stabilisation of the near surface overburden.
RTEC have confirmed the commencement of the mobilisation of the soil stabilisation rig from the Diavik Diamond mine in the Northwest Territories. Read states: “Star Diamond Corporation is pleased with the recent progress made on RTEC’s proposed plan for additional bulk sample drilling on the Star Kimberlite. Star Diamond looks forward to working with RTEC on their due diligence work on the Star kimberlite.”
Star Diamond Corporation is a Canadian based corporation engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties. The Corporation’s Star-Orion South Diamond Project is located in central Saskatchewan some 60 km east of the city of Prince Albert. The Project is in close proximity to established infrastructure, including paved highways and the electrical power grid, which provide significant advantages for future mine development. The Technical Report on the Revised Resource Estimate for the Star-Orion South Diamond Project dated November 9, 2015 provided an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Star and Orion South kimberlite deposits: Indicated Mineral Resources of 393 million tonnes containing 55.4 million carats of diamonds at a weighted average price of US$210 per carat. In addition to the Indicated Mineral Resource Estimate, the Star and Orion South Kimberlites include Inferred Resources containing 11.5 million carats.
