King Eider Yields Three Quarter Carat Diamond
News Release: 05-13
VANCOUVER, April 21, 2005 -- Diamonds North Resources Ltd. (DDN-TSX Venture) announces that several large diamonds, including one stone weighing 0.74 carats, have been recovered from the King Eider kimberlite pipe on the Blue Ice project under option to Teck Cominco Limited. Blue Ice is located on Victoria Island in Nunavut and Northwest Territories.
A total of 434 diamonds weighing an estimated 1.32 carats were recovered from a 679.20 kilogram composite kimberlite sample (KE1) of the central portion of King Eider collected from 4 drill holes. The actual carat weight of all diamonds remaining on the +0.85mm sieve is 1.09 carats, indicating that the coarse diamond content of the sample projects to 1.60 carats per tonne.
A total of 102 diamonds (23%) classify as macrodiamonds measuring 0.5mm in at least one dimension. The 0.74 ct diamond* is the largest stone measuring 5.5mm x 4.2mm x 3.1mm. The dimensional measurements of the ten largest diamonds (by actual weight) from KE1 are listed below:
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Largest Diamonds (mm) -- Sample KE1
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X Y Z X Y Z
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1* 5.5 4.2 3.1 6 2.3 1.6 0.7
2 3.1 2.5 0.6 7 1.9 1.3 1.0
3 3.2 1.8 1.8 8 1.7 1.2 1.0
4 2.2 1.9 1.4 9 1.7 1.4 1.3
5 2.1 1.8 1.2 10 1.50 1.38 0.91
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An additional 17 diamonds were recovered from Sample KE2, a 119.55 kilogram composite sample of distinctly different kimberlite lithologies from 3 of the drill holes along the margin of King Eider.
Full square mesh sieve diamond results for samples KE1 and KE2 are shown below.
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Sieve Sizes Sample KE1 Sample KE2
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(mm) Weight 679.2 Kg Weight 119.55 Kg
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+3.35 1 0
+2.36 0 0
+1.70 2 0
+1.18 4 0
+0.850 3 0
+0.600 4 0
+0.425 23 0
+0.300 35 0
+0.212 50 0
+0.150 116 4
+0.106 196 13
Total 434 17
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Note: Diamonds remaining on or above the +0.85mm sieve size are actually weighed. Diamond weights for stones on all smaller sieve sizes are calculated using the following formula as provided by the laboratory -- (Xmm x Ymm x Zmm x S.G. of 3.52/200mg)
The results for KE1 demonstrate a full and robust diamond size distribution confirming the presence of larger stones. More than 80% of the total carat weight for diamonds in the KE1 sample remain on the coarse sieves (+0.85mm and above). This is significant as the economics of a commercial diamond mine are dependant on the large diamond fraction. The calculated diamond content of Sample KE1 of 1.6 ct/tonne indicates the potential for this kimberlite to carry economic diamond grades and provides Diamonds North and its partner with a high priority sizeable target for further testing.
Of the 451 diamonds recovered in both samples KE1 and KE2, over 90% of the stones are described as being transparent. A total of 70 % of the transparent stones are white in color, 18% are grey and 11% are brown. One pink, transparent stone was also recovered.
King Eider is located within a 25 kilometre kimberlite corridor along which several other kimberlite bodies exist. Delineated by a distinct magnetic anomaly, the exact outline and size of King Eider has not yet been determined. Detailed geophysical data, core logging and diamond analysis indicate that King Eider is composed of multiple diamondiferous phases.
Teck Cominco, the project operator, is currently earning an initial 30% interest in the Blue Ice project and has the right to earn up to a 70% interest. The King Eider diamond results are part of the 2004, $3,000,000 exploration program funded by Teck Cominco. As part of the overall 2004 program, drilling was conducted at King Eider to confirm the presence and distribution of large diamonds recovered in 2002. Results from the larger 2004 sample returned an overall higher diamond count per kilogram, a coarser size distribution and larger diamonds than results from the 2002 sample.
Mobilization for the 2005 drilling program is underway. The initial focus of the 2005 drill program is to test 75 to 100 new targets on the property. Pending review of the 2004 King Eider results, the partners will contemplate expanding the plan at King Eider for 2005, including additional drilling and sample collection.
Diamond results are still pending for an approximate 250 kilogram sample collected from the Turnstone kimberlite which is located within the same kimberlite corridor, five kilometres from King Eider. Work in 2004 at Turnstone was also based on the presence of a coarse diamond recovered from a very small sample in 2002. The 2004 program was designed to collect a larger sample to determine if Turnstone has a coarse diamond size distribution as recently revealed at King Eider.
Kimberlite intersections were logged in secure facilities at the field camp by qualified Teck Cominco geoscientists and subsequently sent to Vancouver for sampling. Two thirds of each kimberlite sample was collected for microdiamond analysis utilizing a rock saw with a synthetic diamond blade. Samples were securely sealed in solid containers and shipped to Kennecott Canada Exploration Inc.'s Mineral Processing Laboratory in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Kennecott's standard caustic fusion diamond recovery method was utilized for all samples. Kennecott Canada Exploration Inc.'s Mineral Processing Laboratory is accredited by the Standards Council of Canada to the ISO/IEC 17025 for specific registered tests.
Graham Gill (P. Geo) is Diamonds North's qualified person reviewing the data for the project.
Diamonds North is a dynamic exploration team focused on strategically advancing diamond opportunities and is determined to discover Canada's next diamond mine.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mark Kolebaba
President & CEO
For further information, please contact:
Corporate Communications: Nancy Curry
Diamonds North Resources Ltd.
Telephone:
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Website: diamondsnorthresources.com
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