Post by Catdaddy on Oct 18, 2007 17:34:14 GMT -5
Drill bits
Murray Lyons, The StarPhoenix
Published: Thursday, October 18, 2007
DIAMOND VENTURE GOING UNDERGROUND
It will take about $12 million in development costs for the Fort a la Corne (FALC) joint venture to create a development shaft this winter for its ongoing diamond exploration program.
The shaft will be some 210 metres into a kimberlite formation that the two mining company partners have dubbed Orion South.
The final decision of the two companies to sink the shaft was made at a recent management meeting, according to George Read, the senior vice president of exploration and development for Saskatoon-based Shore Gold Inc., the operator of the FALC joint venture. Shore will put up 60 per cent of the development costs, while Newmont Mining Corporation of Canada will bankroll the other 40 per cent. Newmont is a wholly owned subsidiary of a gold mining multinational, based in Denver.
According to the Shore press release, the shaft should reach the desired depth into the kimberlite by the second quarter of 2008. The company has done preparatory work in recent weeks by installing a freeze plant and placing the associated piping into the glacial till sitting on top of the kimberlite deposit. The company says it will take three months for the overburden to freeze down to the level of 125 metres and prevent the shaft from collapse.
In a few weeks, the company will install the head frame over the shaft Shore Gold used at its Star kimberlite underground facility. A concrete liner will be installed into the shaft as excavation proceeds.
Excavating the shaft through the kimberlite will produce about 5,000 tonnes of kimberlite prior to the lateral drifts that will be developed off the main shaft, the company says.
According to its press release, Shore is hoping to obtain better grade samples from an underground bulk sampling program than by extracting kimberlite through large diameter drilling from the surface. The company states grades increased 130 per cent at Star when larger, "more representative" bulk samples were taken underground.
The joint venture has already drilled 133 core holes in a pattern into the Orion South kimberlite, followed by large diameter drilling to recover larger kimberlite samples.
"Early stage diamond results from large diameter drilling strongly suggest diamond populations within Orion South that are similar to Star and, thus, define Orion South as a target for shaft sinking and underground bulk sampling," Read stated.
Investors in Shore Gold have seen a positive bounce in October after the exploration company's share price hit a one-year low of $2.90 on Sept. 28. This month, the share price has been on a steady uphill rise, hitting $4.50 in the past two days.
CAMECO BUYS SHARES IN CUE CAPITAL
Cameco Corp. has announced it has spent $2.5 million to obtain an additional 5.7 per cent of Cue Capital Corp., a Vancouver junior exploration company. That brings Cameco's ownership level of Cue to 15.4 per cent.
The additional shares were purchased after Cue showed it had obtained the required exploration and development permits at a uranium project in Paraguay.
Cameco has the rights for a third stage of equity investment in Cue and the rights to own up to 60 per cent of any uranium discoveries in the Paraguay joint venture project.
CAMECO EXECUTIVE LEAVES FOR CALGARY
A long-time Cameco exploration executive has left the uranium mining giant to become the new president and chief operating officer of Uravan Minerals Inc. of Calgary. James Marlatt will also become a director on the junior's board which has an exploration program for uranium going in both the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, in a geological area known as the Thelon basin where Uravan has two projects on the go.
Marlatt, a professional engineer with a specialty in geophysical engineering, was Cameco's director of global exploration from 2002 to 2007. Prior to that, Marlatt worked on Cameco's Australian exploration program.
Besides working to advance Uravan's Boomerang joint venture project with Cameco in the Thelon basin, Marlatt is currently pursuing a doctorate in human and organizational development at Fielding Graduate University.
Larry Lahusen will remain the CEO of Uravan and executive chair of its board.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007
Murray Lyons, The StarPhoenix
Published: Thursday, October 18, 2007
DIAMOND VENTURE GOING UNDERGROUND
It will take about $12 million in development costs for the Fort a la Corne (FALC) joint venture to create a development shaft this winter for its ongoing diamond exploration program.
The shaft will be some 210 metres into a kimberlite formation that the two mining company partners have dubbed Orion South.
The final decision of the two companies to sink the shaft was made at a recent management meeting, according to George Read, the senior vice president of exploration and development for Saskatoon-based Shore Gold Inc., the operator of the FALC joint venture. Shore will put up 60 per cent of the development costs, while Newmont Mining Corporation of Canada will bankroll the other 40 per cent. Newmont is a wholly owned subsidiary of a gold mining multinational, based in Denver.
According to the Shore press release, the shaft should reach the desired depth into the kimberlite by the second quarter of 2008. The company has done preparatory work in recent weeks by installing a freeze plant and placing the associated piping into the glacial till sitting on top of the kimberlite deposit. The company says it will take three months for the overburden to freeze down to the level of 125 metres and prevent the shaft from collapse.
In a few weeks, the company will install the head frame over the shaft Shore Gold used at its Star kimberlite underground facility. A concrete liner will be installed into the shaft as excavation proceeds.
Excavating the shaft through the kimberlite will produce about 5,000 tonnes of kimberlite prior to the lateral drifts that will be developed off the main shaft, the company says.
According to its press release, Shore is hoping to obtain better grade samples from an underground bulk sampling program than by extracting kimberlite through large diameter drilling from the surface. The company states grades increased 130 per cent at Star when larger, "more representative" bulk samples were taken underground.
The joint venture has already drilled 133 core holes in a pattern into the Orion South kimberlite, followed by large diameter drilling to recover larger kimberlite samples.
"Early stage diamond results from large diameter drilling strongly suggest diamond populations within Orion South that are similar to Star and, thus, define Orion South as a target for shaft sinking and underground bulk sampling," Read stated.
Investors in Shore Gold have seen a positive bounce in October after the exploration company's share price hit a one-year low of $2.90 on Sept. 28. This month, the share price has been on a steady uphill rise, hitting $4.50 in the past two days.
CAMECO BUYS SHARES IN CUE CAPITAL
Cameco Corp. has announced it has spent $2.5 million to obtain an additional 5.7 per cent of Cue Capital Corp., a Vancouver junior exploration company. That brings Cameco's ownership level of Cue to 15.4 per cent.
The additional shares were purchased after Cue showed it had obtained the required exploration and development permits at a uranium project in Paraguay.
Cameco has the rights for a third stage of equity investment in Cue and the rights to own up to 60 per cent of any uranium discoveries in the Paraguay joint venture project.
CAMECO EXECUTIVE LEAVES FOR CALGARY
A long-time Cameco exploration executive has left the uranium mining giant to become the new president and chief operating officer of Uravan Minerals Inc. of Calgary. James Marlatt will also become a director on the junior's board which has an exploration program for uranium going in both the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, in a geological area known as the Thelon basin where Uravan has two projects on the go.
Marlatt, a professional engineer with a specialty in geophysical engineering, was Cameco's director of global exploration from 2002 to 2007. Prior to that, Marlatt worked on Cameco's Australian exploration program.
Besides working to advance Uravan's Boomerang joint venture project with Cameco in the Thelon basin, Marlatt is currently pursuing a doctorate in human and organizational development at Fielding Graduate University.
Larry Lahusen will remain the CEO of Uravan and executive chair of its board.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2007
