RE: RE: haFrom the neighbours in the fort a la corne area.. maybe star should also consider a name change as the focus is not really on uranium lately (i am very happy that the focus is diamonds now).
TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Shore Gold, which will complete feasibility study on what could be Saskatchewan’s first diamond mine this month, might see production levels higher than the 1,8-million carats a year initially envisaged because of rising gem prices, a spokesperson said on Tuesday.
Joe Dickson told Mining Weekly Online that as part of the feasibility study, the company was re-optimising the planned pits at the Star-Orion South project, which could include greater resources and lift output.
“There is potential for increased production because of that,” he said in a telephone interview.
Shore Gold evaluated the price of a diamond sample from its project in February, and would use these numbers in the pending feasibility report.
The updated prefeasibility study Shore Gold announced in March last year proposed a 1,8-million-carat-a-year operation, with first output set for 2016.
Dickson said that he didn’t foresee any difficulty in raising the cash required to build the project.
The rapidly accelerating diamond demand in China and India meant that diamantaires were interested in securing supply, and Shore Gold would consider an off take agreement as one of its funding options.
Another would be approaching its partner in parts of Star-Orion South,gold major Newmont Mining, for debt financing, said Dickson.
Newmont did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Another avenue would be to partner with a major mining company that produced diamonds, and Dickson said these firms were “well aware” of the status of Orion South, and interest would likely increase once the feasibility study was out.
BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto both own diamond mines in Canada, while DeBeers already sold its ownership in Star-Orion South, which ended up in Newmont’s hands.
Shore Gold would likely raise some money before the end of the year to pay for long lead items at the project, and would probably make a production decision by the end of the year.
Once this has occured, Dickson said the company could break ground at Star-Orion South as early as next year.
He added that the company would consider a name change to reflect its diamond focus once it was in development.