Fort a la Corne Joint Venture: Orion South diamond results 2.59, 2.22, 1.63 and 1.19 carat diamonds in 136.68 carat parcel
Tue May 27, 6:00 PMStock Symbol: SGF: TSX
SASKATOON, May 27 /CNW/ - George H. Read, P. Geo., Senior Vice President Exploration and Development, is pleased to announce the third set of diamond results from underground bulk sampling of the Orion South Kimberlite, within the Fort a La Corne Joint Venture (FALC-JV) where Shore is the operator with a 60 percent interest and Newmont Mining Corporation of Canada Limited (Newmont) has 40 percent. The diamond recoveries total 136.68 carats from 3,466.73 dry tonnes of kimberlite processed. Included in this release are results for 10 kimberlite batches. A total of 1,310 commercial sized diamonds (greater than 1.18 millimetre square mesh screen), collectively weighing 136.48 carats, has been recovered from these 10 batches. Ten diamonds greater than one carat have been recovered and the four largest stones are: 2.59, 2.22, 1.63 and 1.19 carats, respectively. In addition, eleven diamonds totaling 0.20 carats were recovered down to 0.85 millimetre square mesh. The colour of 36 percent of the diamonds has been classified as white, with a further 34 percent classified as off-white.
The well constrained geological model on Orion South enabled the sinking of the shaft in a central location to ensure ease of future underground access to the north and south of the shaft to sample the Early Joli Fou (EJF) and Pense Kimberlite lithologies. The pilot PQ (75 millimetres) core hole (141-07-081C) that preceded the shaft was drilled to a depth of 241 metres below surface and the geologic sequence logged from this hole is: 0-102 metres glacial overburden, 102-105 metres Late Joli Fou Kimberlite, 105-147 metres Early Joli Fou Kimberlite and 147-241 metres Pense Kimberlite. The lithology of these ten kimberlite batches is consistent with the pilot hole and a map of the shaft geology is available on the Shore website at: www.shoregold.com. Kimberlite processed and diamond results for the 10 sample batches are listed in the following table.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Location Number Largest
Batch Depth below Dry of Total Grade Stone
No. Surface (metres) Tonnes Stones (carats) (cpht) (carats)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
OS-009 Shaft 9: 148.58
- 155.78 metres 330.67 222 28.46 8.61 1.63
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
OS-010 Shaft 10: 155.78
- 161.77 metres 343.05 164 20.18 5.88 2.22
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
OS-011 Shaft 11: 161.77
- 170.69 metres 366.01 145 14.65 4.00 0.86
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
OS-012 Shaft 12: 170.69
- 178.94 metres 404.74 162 13.32 3.29 0.43
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
OS-013 Shaft 13: 178.94
- 184.31 metres 367.21 160 13.42 3.66 1.03
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
OS-014 185 metres
Station A 450.2 153 14.66 3.26 1.19
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
OS-015 185 metres
MAIN STATION B 291.84 91 6.58 2.25 1.19
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
OS-016 MAIN STATION
CLEAN UP No.1 109.66 29 4.09 3.73 0.40
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
OS-017 185 metres
Station C 373.06 92 10.03 2.69 2.59
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
OS-018 185 metres
Station D 430.29 103 11.29 2.62 0.90
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 3,466.73 1,321 136.68 3.94
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The four largest stones are 2.59, 2.22, 1.63 and 1.19 carats respectively. Three diamonds exceed two carats and 10 diamonds exceed one carat, of which 4 are white, 2 are off white, 1 is grey and three are brown. A total of 39 diamonds exceed 0.5 carats. Thirty-six percent of this diamond parcel is classified white in colour, with a further 34 percent classified as off-white. Ninety-nine percent of the carat weight of this parcel occurs in diamonds greater than 1.18 millimetre square mesh.
Senior Vice President Exploration and Development, George Read, states: "The lower diamond grades encountered in this part of the Pense Kimberlite, as opposed to areas to the south of the shaft in Orion South, where higher grades were encountered in large diameter drilling of the Pense Kimberlite, are expected and consistent with Shore's interpretation of the internal geology of Orion South as disclosed in our news release dated March 5, 2008. The shaft has been sited at its present position which provides excellent access to large volumes of coarse grained EJF and Pense Kimberlite, to the south and north of the shaft, which is anticipated to carry significantly higher diamond grades. Within Orion South there are significant volumes of coarse grained kimberlite breccia, the type of kimberlite in which grades up to 36 carats per hundred tonnes have been recovered from the Star Kimberlite underground bulk sampling, particularly within the EJF in the southern part of Orion South. The Orion south shaft has been completed to a depth of 211 metres below surface and a substantial station has been established at the 186 metre level. The equipment required for lateral drift development, including a scoop tram, has been lowered down the shaft and assembled in the station. Lateral drift development is presently underway on headings to the south. The aim of this shaft sinking exercise is the recovery of substantial, representative diamond parcels, from each of the Orion South kimberlite lithologies, for diamond grade and price determinations. In addition to shaft sinking and bulk sampling on Orion South, large diameter drilling is also underway on Orion South."
The diamond recovery procedure includes on-site processing of kimberlite through the modular Dense Media Separator (DMS), after which DMS concentrates are batch fed through an X-ray Flow-sort. In order to ensure the recovery of low luminosity diamonds, the Flow-sort tailings are processed over a grease table. Flow-sort and grease table concentrates are transported by a secure carrier to Mineral Services Canada Inc for final diamond recovery. The Mineral Services process includes de-greasing, drying, screening, magnetic separation, manual sorting and diamond weighing and description. The Mineral Services facility, process and quality assurance procedures have been audited and ratified by an independent industry expert.
Senior Vice President Exploration and Development, George Read, Professional Geoscientist in the Provinces of Saskatchewan and British Columbia, is the Qualified Person responsible for the verification and quality assurance of analytical results. Shore is a Canadian based corporation engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties. Shares of the Company trade on the TSX Exchange under the trading symbol "SGF".
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
From time to time, Shore makes written or oral forward-looking statements within the meaning of certain securities laws, including the "safe harbour" provisions of the Ontario Securities Act and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Shore may make such statements in this press release, in other filings with Canadian regulators or the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, in reports to shareholders or in other communications. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements with respect to Shore's objectives for the ensuing year, our medium and long-term goals, and strategies to achieve those objectives and goals, as well as statements with respect to our beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions. The words "may," "could," "should," "would," "suspect," "outlook," "believe," "plan," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend," and words and expressions of similar import are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In particular, statements regarding Shore's future operations, future exploration and development activities or other development plans contain forward-looking statements.
All forward-looking statements and information are based on Shore's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Shore concerning anticipated financial performance, business prospects, strategies, regulatory developments, development plans, exploration, development and mining activities and commitments. Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect.
By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these statements as a number of important factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, developments in world diamond markets, changes in diamond valuations, 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 Shore or its joint venture partners; the effects of competition in the markets in which Shore operates; the impact of changes in the laws and regulations regulating mining exploration and development; judicial or regulatory judgments and legal proceedings; operational and infrastructure risks and the additional risks described in Shore's most recently filed Annual Information Form, annual and interim MD&A and short form prospectus, and Shore's anticipation of and success in managing the foregoing risks.
Shore cautions that the foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. When relying on our forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to Shore, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Shore does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by Shore or on our behalf.
ContactsJoseph DicksonManager
Investor Relations at (306) 667-3505
535.02 (5.57%)