The 2017 program focused on delineation drilling and mini-bulk sampling of the 12.5 hectare Q1-4 kimberlite, one of the largest undeveloped diamond resources in Canada, containing a significant population of extremely rare, potentially high value, fancy vivid orangey yellow diamonds as certified by the Gemological Institute of America and Canadian Gem Labs. The Q1-4 kimberlite hosts a total Inferred Mineral Resource of 26.1 million carats from 48.8 million tonnes with an average +1 DTC total diamond content of 53.6 carats per hundred tonnes (cpht) extending from surface to a depth of 205m (-135 metres above sea level (masl)).
The summer program was completed in early September and included the collection of a 234 wet tonne mini-bulk sample and over 10,000 kg of kimberlite in drill core. The program, details of which can be found in North Arrow news release of September 12, 2017, represents the first phase of a larger planned program to better define the size, grade and diamond content of the Q1-4 kimberlite in support of an economic assessment. The deposit is well located, only 9 km from tidewater and work was conducted directly from the Hamlet of Naujaat, allowing the program to be completed cost effectively without the need for a remote exploration camp.
All of the collected samples have been delivered to the processing laboratory in Thunder Bay, ON. Dense media separation (DMS) processing of the first of three subsamples of the mini-bulk sample is presently underway and caustic fusion analyses of drill core microdiamond samples are scheduled to start this week. DMS processing is intended to recover commercial sized diamonds (greater than 0.85 mm) and the resulting diamond parcels will provide further information to help evaluate the content, value and size distribution of commercial sized diamonds within the Q1-4 kimberlite and will aid in planning for collection of a larger bulk sample in 2018. Processing of the three subsamples is expected to be finished by the end of calendar 2017. Microdiamond analyses of drill core samples will continue throughout the next several months. Diamonds recovered from these samples will help improve the spatial diamond dataset for the Q1-4 kimberlite and overall understanding of diamond distribution and grade throughout the body.
President and CEO, Ken Armstrong commented, "We expect to start receiving results from the Q1-4 mini-bulk and microdiamond samples within the next couple of weeks and will continue to receive results progressively throughout the fall and early 2018. The microdiamond samples are the first drill core collected from Q1-4 since 2004 and will provide important new information on diamond distribution and grade within the kimberlite. The mini-bulk sample will improve our understanding of commercial sized diamonds within the different units of the Q1-4 kimberlite, including the distribution of fancy coloured diamonds. All of these diamond results will be used as we plan for further drilling next spring and the collection of a larger bulk sample next summer in advance of an economic assessment of this large diamond deposit."
About the Q1-4 Kimberlite
The Q1-4 kimberlite hosts a total Inferred Mineral Resource of 26.1 million carats from 48.8 million tonnes with an average +1 DTC total diamond content of 53.6 carats per hundred tonnes (cpht) extending from surface to a depth of 205m (-135 masl). Additional resource upside has also been identified in the form of a target for further exploration for the Q1-4 kimberlite pipe of between 7.9 to 9.3 million carats from 14.1 to 16.6 million tonnes with an average +1 DTC total diamond content of 56.1 cpht, extending from 205m depth to 305m depth.
