TSX: DIAM
SASKATOON, SK, May 2, 2022
/CNW/ - Star Diamond Corporation ("Star
Diamond or the Corporation") is pleased to announce that the
Corporation has completed a major study into the abundance of Type
IIa diamonds in the diamond parcels recovered from the Early Joli
Fou ("EJF") Geological Units at Orion North (K120, K147 & K148)
and Taurus Kimberlites (K118, K122 & K150) located within the
Fort à la Corne diamond district of central Saskatchewan, Canada (which contains the Star
- Orion South Diamond Project), on mineral dispositions held in a
joint venture with Rio Tinto Exploration Canada. These diamonds
were recovered by Star Diamond
between 2006 and 2008 from 48-inch large diameter drilling ("LDD")
programs. This study confirms that unusually high proportions of
Type IIa diamonds are present in both the Orion North and Taurus
Kimberlites. Of particular note is the remarkably high proportion
of Type IIa diamonds in the Orion North 147/148 EJF (52%) of which
66% of the 24 stones, 3 grainer (0.66 carats) and above are Type
IIa. This study also confirms and augments an earlier study of Type
IIa diamonds being present in the Fort a la Corne kimberlites with
Star at (26.5 percent) and Orion South Kimberlite (12.5
percent) (see News Releases dated June
09, 2010 & March 04,
2019). Type IIa diamonds are very rare and account for less
than 2 percent of all natural rough diamonds mined from
kimberlites. Many high-value, top colour, large specials (greater
than 10.8 carats) are Type IIa diamonds, which include all ten of
the largest known rough diamonds recovered worldwide.
A Target For Further Exploration ("TFFE") completed by
Star Diamond in 2014 (see news
Release dated March 06, 2014)
estimated that between 881 million and 1.04 billion tonnes of the
major EJF units, containing between 46 and 79 million carats, occur
within the Orion North and Taurus kimberlite clusters. Orion North
(K147, K148 & K220) alone is estimated to contain between
340-410 million tonnes of EJF kimberlite with an estimated range of
grade of 2.75 to 8.37 cpht.
The number and the percentage of Type IIa diamonds for the major
EJF units at Orion North and Taurus are documented in the table
below.
Orion North
Kimberlite (Diamonds +7 DTC (0.05 carats) to 7
carats)
|
Geological
Unit
|
Number of
Diamonds Typed
|
Number of Type
IIa
Diamonds
|
Percentage Type
IIa
Diamonds
|
Early Joli Fou
K147/K148 (LDD)
|
1,019
|
531
|
52.11
|
Early Joli Fou K120
(LDD)
|
1,545
|
167
|
10.81
|
Taurus Kimberlite
(Diamonds +7 DTC (0.05 carats) to 8 carats)
|
Geological
Unit
|
Number of
Diamonds Typed
|
Number of Type
IIa
Diamonds
|
Percentage Type
IIa
Diamonds
|
Early Joli Fou K118
(LDD)
|
565
|
256
|
45.31
|
Early Joli Fou K122
(LDD)
|
292
|
69
|
23.63
|
Early Joli Fou K150
(LDD)
|
394
|
76
|
19.29
|
As summarized in the table above, a significant number of
diamonds from the EJF Units at Orion North (K120, K147 & K148)
and Taurus Kimberlites (K118, K122 & K150) have been
analysed and typed. The diamonds analysed represent a spectrum of
diamond sizes from +7 DTC (+0.05 carats) through to all of the
large stones recovered, up to diamonds of 8 carats. The largest
Type IIa diamond identified was a 6.88 carat stone from Orion North
(K147/K148 EJF).
The largest stones from the EJF in each kimberlite, all of which
are also the highest value stones, are listed in the table below.
Diamond descriptions and valuations were completed by Mr.
Nelson Karun, Diamond Specialist,
Saskatchewan Research Council's ("SRC") Diamond Services.:
Kimberlite
(Geological
Unit)
|
Size
(carats)
|
Type
|
Colour
|
Model
|
Estimated
Price
US$/Carat
|
Estimated
Stone
Value US$
|
Ealy
Joli Fou
K147/K148 LDD)
|
6.88
|
IIa
|
VTLB (H)*
|
Makeable
|
3,544
|
24,404
|
Early Joli Fou K120
(LDD)
|
7.50
|
I
|
H
|
Makeable
|
4,051
|
30,391
|
Early Joli Fou K118
(LDD)
|
3.42
|
IIa
|
VTLB (H)*
|
Makeable
|
2,734
|
9,350
|
Early Joli Fou K122
(LDD)
|
7.90
|
I
|
J
|
Sawable
|
2,420
|
19,120
|
Early Joli Fou K150
(LDD)
|
2.84
|
I
|
J
|
Sawable
|
3,000
|
8,544
|
*VTLB Very Top Light
Brown Polishes to the equivalent of H colour
|
Type IIa diamonds are very rare and account for less than 2
percent of all natural rough diamonds mined from kimberlites. Only
a small number of active diamond mines regularly produce Type IIa
diamonds with the most important of these mines being
Letseng-la-Terae (Letseng Mine) in the Kingdom of Lesotho and more recently Karowe in
Botswana. While Letseng is a low
grade (1.5-3 cpht) kimberlite and Karowe approximately (15 cpht),
they are probably the most prolific source of large high-value Type
IIa diamonds, which contribute to making Letseng and Karowe highly
economic deposits. Type IIa diamonds contain no nitrogen or boron
impurities and are frequently either top white colours (D, E, F or
G) or any shade of brown. Many pink and brownish-pink diamonds are
also Type IIa. Type IIa diamonds usually have anhedral crystal
shape and exhibit a range of elongated, distorted or irregular
morphologies. Most importantly, many high-value, top colour, large
specials (greater than 10.8 carats) are Type IIa diamonds, which
include all ten of the largest known rough diamonds recovered
worldwide, from the 726 carat Jonker to the 3,106 carat
Cullinan.
Statistics on the proportions of Type IIa diamonds produced by
diamonds mines are not freely available. However, Bowen et al
(2009) published Type IIa FTIR measurements for 484 plus two carat
diamonds from the Letseng Diamond Mine. The Letseng Mine has a low
grade of some 1.5 to 3 cpht but is highly economic as a result of
its unusually high average diamond price (US$2,131 per carat in 2018). Letseng accounts for
some 30 percent of the world market share of diamonds greater than
25 carats and has produced some of the biggest gem quality diamonds
recovered in the past number of years including the 910 carat
Lesotho Legend, 603 carat Lesotho Promise, the 550 carat Letseng
Star, the 493 carat Letseng Legacy and the 478 carat Light of
Letseng. These are all Type IIa diamonds. The Karowe Mine of Lucara
Diamond Corp. has also produced some record Type IIa diamonds in
the past few years, notably 1,758 carat Sewelo, which is the second
largest gem diamond ever recovered, the 1,109 carat Lesedi La Rona, which is the third largest gem
diamond ever recovered and sold for US$53
million, and the 813 carat Constellation, which was sold for
the record price of US$63.1
million.
Fourier Transform Infrared ("FTIR") Spectrometry is used to
determine the concentration and aggregation state of nitrogen
within the diamonds using industry standard methods. All analyses
of nitrogen content and aggregation state were carried out at the
SRC high security diamond facility, with 24-hour video
surveillance. The SRC's Geoanalytical Laboratories is accredited to
the ISO/IEC 17025 standard by the Standards Council of Canada as a testing laboratory.
Senior Technical Advisor, George
Read, states: "The presence of a significant proportion of
Type IIa diamonds in the Orion North and Taurus Kimberlites greatly
increases the potential for the recovery of large (plus 100 carat),
high-value diamonds. Analysis of the Orion North and Taurus diamond
parcels indicated a significant proportion of Type IIa diamonds,
some of which are top white in colour with high value Type IIa and
Type I stones and exhibit high diamond prices. The presence of
high-value diamond groups (Type IIa) greatly strengthens the future
potential diamond pricing from the Orion North and Taurus
Kimberlites."
Star Diamond Corporation is a Canadian based corporation engaged
in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral
properties. Shares of the Corporation trade on the TSX Exchange
under the trading symbol "DIAM". Star Diamond holds, through a
joint venture arrangement with RTEC (a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Rio Tinto), a 25% interest in certain Fort à la Corne kimberlites
(including the Star – Orion South Diamond Project). These
properties are located in central Saskatchewan, in close proximity to
established infrastructure, including paved highways and the
electrical power grid, which provide significant advantages for
future mine development. Rio Tinto refers to their Fort à la Corne
mineral properties as "Project FalCon". During 2018, Star Diamond announced the positive results of
an independent Preliminary Economic Assessment (the "PEA") on the
Project. The PEA (on a 100% basis) estimated that 66 million carats
of diamonds could be recovered in a surface mine over a 38-year
Project life, with a Net Present Value ("NPV") (7%) of $2.0 billion after tax, an Internal Rate of
Return ("IRR") of 19% and an after-tax payback period of 3.4 years
after the commencement of diamond production (see news release
dated April 16, 2018).
All technical information in this press release has
been prepared under the supervision of George Read,
Senior Technical Advisor, a registered
Professional Geoscientist in
the Provinces of Saskatchewan and
British Columbia and Mark Shimell,
Project Manager, a registered
Professional Geoscientist in the Province of
Saskatchewan, who
are the Corporation's "Qualified
Persons" under the definition
of NI 43-101.
References (Available on Corporation's website)
Bowen, D.C. Ferraris, R.D. Palmer, C.E. and Ward, J.D.
(2009) On the unusual characteristics of the diamonds from
Letseng-la-Terae kimberlites, Lesotho. Lithos Vol. 112S pp.767 – 774.
Breeding, C.M. and Shigley, J.E. (2009) The "Type"
classification system of diamonds and its importance in gemology.
Gems & Gemology Vol. 45 No. 2 pp. 96 – 111
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements as defined
by certain securities laws, including the "safe harbour" provisions
of Canadian securities legislation and the United States Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking
information is often, but not always, identified by the use of
words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan", "intend",
"forecast", "target", "project", "guidance", "may", "will",
"should", "could", "estimate", "predict" or similar words
suggesting future outcomes or language suggesting an outlook. In
particular, statements regarding the Corporation's future
operations, future exploration and development activities or other
development plans constitute forward-looking statements. By their
nature, statements referring to mineral reserves, mineral
resources, PEA or TFFE constitute forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements contained or implied in this press
release include, but are not limited to, the potential proportion
of Type IIa diamonds in kimberlites located in the Fort à la Corne
diamond district of central Saskatchewan,
Canada (which includes the Star, Orion South, Orion North and Taurus Kimberlites)
and the potential for the recovery of large high quality
diamonds.
These forward-looking statements are based on the Corporation's
current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and
information currently available to it and involve inherent
risks and uncertainties, both general and specific. Risks exist
that forward-looking statements will not be achieved due to a
number of factors including, but not limited to, developments in
world diamond markets, changes in diamond prices, risks relating to
fluctuations in the Canadian dollar and other currencies relative
to the US dollar, changes in exploration, development or mining
plans due to exploration results and changing budget priorities of
RTEC or Star Diamond, the impact of
changes in the laws and regulations regulating mining exploration,
development, closure, judicial or regulatory judgments and legal
proceedings, operational and infrastructure risks and the
additional risks described in Star
Diamond's most recently filed Annual Information Form,
annual and interim MD&A.
Although the management of Star
Diamond consider the assumptions contained in
forward-looking statements to be reasonable based on information
currently available to them, those assumptions may prove to be
incorrect. When making decisions with respect to Star Diamond, investors and others should not
place undue reliance on these statements and should carefully
consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and
potential events. Star Diamond does
not undertake any obligation to release publicly revisions to any
forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after
the date of this release, or to reflect the occurrence of
unanticipated events, except as may be required under applicable
securities laws. Investors should not assume that any lack of
update to a previously issued forward-looking statement constitutes
a reaffirmation of that statement. Continued reliance on
forward-looking statements is at investors' own risk.
SOURCE Star Diamond Corporation