North Arrow Minerals Inc (TSX-V:NAR) has reported initial diamond recoveries from the first 70% of a bulk sample collected in 2021 from the Q1-4 diamond deposit at its Naujaat diamond project in Nunavut.
The company said the initial diamond results confirm the presence of an important, potentially high-value, fancy orange and yellow diamond population in the Q1-4 kimberlite and add significant confidence to past results.
“The significant proportion of fancy colour diamonds in the sample is positive and will provide important information needed to complete ongoing modelling of the size distributions of fancy diamonds in the Q1-4 deposit and will be used in an updated average diamond price estimate in due course,” North Arrow president and CEO Ken Armstrong said in a statement.
READ: North Arrow Minerals updates on Naujaat bulk sample; seeing positive exploration results at Pikoo and Loki projects
Highlights of the initial diamond recoveries include:
- 268 diamonds greater than +9 DTC weighing 117.98 carats were recovered from 1,316 dry tonnes of kimberlite from the A28 unit – the average size of diamonds retained on the +9 DTC sieve is ~0.21 carats
- The three largest recovered diamonds are 3.31, 3.07 and 2.76 carats
- 48 of the 268 diamonds (17.9%) classify as fancy colour (20.9% by carat weight) – indicative of a desirable and potentially high-value diamond population
- 58% of the fancy diamonds classify as either “intense” or “vivid” - the two highest colour saturation classes and an important indicator of potential value in fancy colour diamonds
- 91% of the fancy diamonds classify with orange as the primary colour – orange is considered amongst the rarest colours for natural diamonds
- +9 DTC sample grade of 9 carats per hundred tonnes (cpht) compares favorably with a similar sized sample collected from the same geological unit in 2014 (9.3 cpht)
The company said the processing of the remainder of the 2021 bulk sample, collected from the A88 unit, is ongoing.
“We are very pleased with the results so far of this bulk sampling program, extremely well managed by our partners at North Arrow,” said Peter Ravenscroft, MD and CEO of Burgundy Diamond Mines Limited, North Arrow’s partner on the project. “Initial indications are very promising, and we look forward to completion of the processing and the subsequent analysis of all results when available.”
The 2021 bulk sample consists of 2,500 sample bags collected from three sample pits (Pits B, D, & E) at the multiphase Q1-4 kimberlite, located seven kilometres from the project laydown near the Hamlet of Naujaat.
North Arrow said the sample was divided into five subsamples for processing purposes, including the four subsamples currently reported: Pit B weathered kimberlite (296 bags), Pit D weathered kimberlite (445 bags), Pit B rock (325 bags) and Pit D rock (733 bags). All four subsamples are from the A28 unit of Q1-4. Processing of the fifth and final subsample, collected from the A88 unit (Pit E, 701 bags, approximately 280m southwest of Pit D), is ongoing and will be reported when received, the company added.
“Diamond recoveries reported today have been achieved using an X-Ray Transmission (XRT) optical sorter, capable of recovering diamonds larger than 2mm,” Armstrong continued. “The results are reported with a bottom sieve size of +9 DTC, which is the smallest sieve size for which diamonds are detected and fully recovered using the XRT. While this is a very coarse cut off for a traditional evaluation sample, it meets the needs of the current program.”
North Arrow explained that the purpose of the 2021 sample is to acquire further information on the coarser sizes of the Q1-4 diamond population, with particular emphasis on potential high-value fancy colour diamonds. As such, colour characterization studies of the diamonds have been completed using the industry-standard grading scale established by the Gemological Institute of America (GIA). Forty-eight of the 268 diamonds (17.9%) classify as fancy coloured (20.9% by carat weight) with over 90% having orange as the primary colour and 58% categorized as having either intense or vivid colour saturations, the two highest colour saturations.
The company said the GIA colour grading scale is the industry standard for polished diamonds and, although colour grading of rough diamonds is very similar to that of polished diamonds, it said there is no universally accepted colour grading scheme for rough diamonds.
Previous cutting and polishing of select Naujaat rough fancy colour diamonds has produced fancy vivid orangey yellow diamonds, certified by the GIA and demonstrating that the Q1-4 deposit can produce polished fancy colour diamonds for use in the luxury jewelry market, it added.
North Arrow is a Canadian-based exploration company focused on the identification and evaluation of diamond exploration opportunities in Canada. The company’s management, board of directors and advisors have significant successful experience in the global diamond industry.
The $5.6 million bulk sample program is being funded by Burgundy as part of a June 1, 2020 option agreement under which Burgundy may earn a 40% interest in the Naujaat project by funding the current bulk sample program.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com