Stellar Diamonds PLC (LON:STEL) reported what it called encouraging initial diamond recoveries from drill core samples of the wholly-owned Droujba kimberlite pipe in south east Guinea.
It recovered 538 diamonds from 291 kilos of kimberlite, of which 5 were commercial sized larger than 0.85 millimetres. The majority of diamonds are classified as white, colourless and transparent. The largest recovered diamond measured 5.60mm x 2.80mm x 1.80mm.
Chief executive Karl Smithson said: "These excellent results confirm that the Droujba kimberlite pipe has the potential to be significantly diamondiferous. It is encouraging to not only see a large number of diamonds recovered, but also to confirm the presence of commercial sized stones in the relatively small sample processed.
"We have made strong progress with our kimberlite projects in both Guinea and Sierra Leone and with aggressive work programmes planned for Droujba as well as Tongo we believe that we have established a strong base from which to unlock shareholder value. We look forward to updating the market on progress made at Droujba and our other key development projects in the near future," he added.
The planned 3,000 metre drilling programme is progressing well, as reported last month.
As drilling continues the drill log information will be collated in order to obtain a provisional geological model for the pipe down to a depth of at least 120 metres. Additional kimberlite material will also be dispatched to the Saskatchewan Research Council laboratory in Canada for further microdiamond analysis, which will then be modeled in terms of macrodiamond grade forecasts and provide more robust data on the potential commercial grade of the pipe.
Stellar has a portfolio of projects in West Africa. Two projects in Guinea, Mandala and Bomboko, are undergoing mining and trial mining respectively, which provide cash flow to the company.
It also owns full rights over four high-grade kimberlites that are the focus of exploration and development. In Sierra Leone at the Tongo project a bulk sampling programme is currently underway on one key kimberlite to assess the diamond grade and value, with initial results expected in the near future.
At the Kono underground trial mine, bulk sampling by the company has produced 4,200 carats as part of an economic evaluation exercise. In Guinea drilling is ongoing on the Droujba kimberlite pipe and bulk sampling is being planned on the high grade Bouro kimberlite dyke, which is adjacent to the company's Mandala diamond mine.