Fancy Colour" diamonds
It is Naujaat's yellow and orangey-yellow diamonds that brought Burgundy Diamond Mines to North Arrow's door.
Burgundy evolved from a strategy developed over several years by founder Peter Ravenscroft and assisted in later stages by vice presidents Sean Whiteford and George Read. Mining entrepreneur Michael O'Keeffe, who had identified diamonds as a counter-cyclical and contrarian investment opportunity also supported the new organization.
The strategy centered on a perceived need for change in the diamond sector. Severe underfunding of junior public diamond explorers over the past decade has left a significant hole in the sector's longer-term project development pipeline. As a result, supply shortfalls during the next 10 years will not be filled by the limited exploration spending being made by the majors.
Recognizing and supporting Ravenscroft's vision, O'Keeffe joined the effort that resulted in the organization of Burgundy Diamond Mines Ltd. over the course of 2020. At the same time, the company grew from an initial market capitalization of some A$3 million (US$2.2 million) to some A$45 million (US$32.5 million) at the end of 2020.
The company's organizers chose the name Burgundy in honor of Mary of Burgundy, who has historically been recorded as receiving the world's first diamond engagement ring at the age of 20 from her prospective husband, the Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I of Austria, in 1477. The power couple went on to change the face of Europe's politics for centuries.
Burgundy Diamonds' strategy, meanwhile, evolved into a focus on generating cash flow, particularly from a niche sector – "Fancy Colour" diamonds, which are rarer than white diamonds.
Well-funded bulk sampling
Burgundy entered an option agreement in 2020 that gives the company the right to earn a 40% undivided interest in the Naujaat project on completion of a 1,500 – 2,000 dry metric-ton bulk sample on the Q1-4 kimberlite pipe and spending C$5.6 million (US$4.1 million). The agreement was conditional on the company being able to provide required funding by April 2021.
After a successful A$10.6 million (US$7.7 million) capital raising in the summer of 2020, Burgundy provided an unconditional commitment to funding a phase 1 bulk sample program.
Burgundy also provisionally committed to funding a second phase bulk sample to earn an additional 20% ownership interest in the Naujaat project
In late September, North Arrow reported completion of a 2,000-metric-ton bulk sample and the imminent shipment of 2,500 bags of material to an independent lab in Saskatchewan for processing.
In mid-December, Armstrong said processing of the 2021 Naujaat bulk sample using new XRT sorting technology would require additional auditing of results, but the technique more easily identifies diamonds in a sample, particularly larger size diamonds.
Initial diamond recoveries were expected in early 2022.
The DMS circuit also was still being optimized for the overall diamond recovery process, and the junior was evaluating options to increase sample throughput.
"We will be able to report to the market in batches the results of processing the bulk sample over the next four to five months," Armstrong told a reporter in mid-December.
The recovered diamond parcel from the 2021 bulk sample is intended to confirm that the unique and potentially high-value population of fancy yellow and orangey-yellow diamonds at Najat extends into coarser diamond sizes.
Armstrong said the bulk sample is a key milestone in Naujaat's development, but the project's important risk hurdles have already been cleared.
"This bulk sample is NOT about kimberlite discovery, NOT about size of deposit, NOT about mineral chemistry, NOT about microdiamonds, and NOT about whether there are commercial-sized diamonds," Armstrong told investors in a recent presentation. "This is about whether there are bigger diamonds and what their quality is like."
Armstrong also noted that very few diamond projects get to this stage.
North Arrow Minerals Inc.
Nearly 2,500 bags of material from the 2021 bulk sampling of the Q1-4 kimberlite at Naujaat.
The junior is also exploring seven other properties in Canada, in discovery and target development stages, including six diamond projects – three in Nunavut, including the Mel, Luxx, and grassroots CSI projects; two in neighboring Northwest Territories, including a 21 percent interest in the LDG joint venture project; and one in Saskatchewan.
At the Loki project in the Lac de Gras region of Northwest Territories, North Arrow plans to pursue the South Coppermine train source, along with geomorphology and drilling this summer or fall.
At the Pikoo project in Saskatchewan, plans also are underway to drill well-established targets for new kimberlites in 2022.
North Arrow also owns the Hope Bay Oro gold project located about three kilometers (1.9 miles) north of Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd.'s producing Doris Gold Mine at Hope Bay. It is currently in discussions with a potential partner for further exploration of the gold project this summer.
https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=newssearch&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwi3ysmvxfX2AhWfg4kEHZuKCFsQxfQBKAB6BAgFEAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.miningnewsnorth.com%2Fstory%2F2022%2F03%2F04%2Fnews%2Foutlook-glitters-for-naujaat-diamonds%2F7276.html&usg=AOvVaw3Rlu-qDdDidyxoZBdEHGaZ