SGF News - Orion S LDD resultsShore Gold Inc. - Fort a la Corne joint venture: Orion South LDD diamond results 5.21, 2.93, 2.81 and 1.29 carat diamonds in parcels totaling 78.22 carats
15:36 EDT Monday, June 25, 2007
SASKATOON, June 25 /CNW/ - George H. Read, P. Geo., Senior Vice President Exploration and Development, is pleased to announce the diamond results for the four hole large diameter drill (LDD) program that specifically targeted the Pense kimberlite on the Orion South Kimberlite. The location of these LDD holes, with respect the previously drilled LDD holes, is indicated on a map which is available at www.shoregold.com. This LDD program forms part of the evaluation of the Orion Kimberlite Cluster within the Fort a la Corne Joint Venture (FALC-JV), where Shore Gold Inc. (Shore) is the Operator with a 60 percent interest and Newmont Mining Corporation of Canada Limited (Newmont) has a 40 percent interest. The purpose of the LDD program is to provide a preliminary indication of the presence of macrodiamonds in the Pense, as LDD drilling completed by the former operator of the FALC-JV had only sampled limited Pense intersections within Orion South. This LDD method of sampling provides an indication of the presence of macrodiamonds but does not necessarily give the true grade of these relatively low grade, large tonnage kimberlites. The true grade of these Fort a la Corne kimberlites can only be determined accurately through a large underground bulk sampling exercise such as has been completed on the Star Diamond Project.
The current Orion South geological model (SGF News Releases March 2 and March 19, 2007) that has been developed by Shore and Newmont geologists shows that Orion South is predominantly composed of Early Joli Fou (EJF1 and EJF2: 176-196 million tonnes) and Pense (112-124 million tonnes) age kimberlites. The EJF1 and EJF2 lithologies are associated with separate feeder vents, with EJF1 in the south (140) and EJF2 in the north (141). These are Pense and EJF time equivalent kimberlites which have been erupted synchronous with the deposition of the Pense and EJF sediments, respectively, and, while the Pense and EJF Kimberlites in Orion South exhibit many similarities to the Pense and EJF in Star, they are not exactly the same kimberlite lithologies. These four LDD holes targeted plus 100 metre intersections of the Pense in Orion South.
Diamonds totaling 78.22 carats were recovered from the processing of 1,448.05 dry tonnes of kimberlite from the four LDD holes reported. The total diamond recoveries from the Pense Kimberlite intersected in each LDD hole are listed in Table 1 and the drill intersects in Table 2. The grade range listed in Table 1 shows the range of diamond grades (in cpht) for individual samples collected at various levels, throughout the kimberlite intersection, down each LDD hole. Kimberlite samples are collected over approximately 10 metre intervals down each LDD hole. Kimberlite with elevated grade has been encountered at various depths in all four holes and examples of specific samples are listed in Table 3. Ninety-nine percent of these diamonds are commercial stones greater than 1.18 millimetre (688 diamonds weighing 77.70 carats) with the balance of the goods (30 diamonds weighing 0.52 carats) falling in the +0.85-1.16 millimetre size fraction. The four largest stones are: 5.21 carat grey from LDD-140-07-001, 2.93 carat off white from LDD-141-07-002, 2.81 carat off white from LDD-141-07-001 and a 1.29 carat white from LDD-141-07-001. Nine diamonds exceed one carat of which 4 are white, 2 are off white and 3 are grey. The colour of 50 percent of the diamonds has been classified as white, with a further 30 percent classified as off-white.
Senior Vice President Exploration and Development, George Read, states: "These LDD results indicate the Pense kimberlite within Orion South contains macrodiamonds and zones with elevated grades (7.00 - 28.50 cpht) occur at various elevations in these LDD holes. The elevated grades, some of which are from kimberlite in direct contact with the glacial overburden, and the significant volume of diamond bearing kimberlite justify the next phase of exploration on Orion South. Present early stage estimates suggest that Orion South contains approximately 176 - 196 million tonnes of diamond bearing EJF1 and EJF2 and 112 - 124 million tonnes of diamond bearing Pense kimberlite within the area of potential economic interest. These estimates are conceptual in nature and do not represent a Mineral Resource estimate and future work may not necessarily lead to the definition of a Mineral Resource on Orion South. Additional work is warranted to further investigate the economic potential of these kimberlite lithologies. Orion South is a target for shaft sinking and bulk sampling."
Table 1: Orion South Pense Diamond Recoveries, Grade (carats per hundred tonnes), Grade Range and Stones per Tonne for each LDD Hole
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LDD Hole No. Grade Stones
Kimberlite Sampled Total Total Grade Range Per
Lithology Tonnes Carats Stones (cpht) (cpht) Tonne
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LDD-140-07-001 Pense 322.15 24.18 199 7.51 2.53 - 28.53 0.61
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LDD-140-07-002 Pense 281.14 12.11 130 4.31 0.64 - 17.85 0.46
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LDD-141-07-001 Pense 408.11 24.54 215 6.01 0.65 - 26.54 0.53
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LDD-141-07-002 Pense 436.65 17.39 174 3.98 0.79 - 15.64 0.40
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TOTAL 1,448.05 78.22 718 5.40 0.64 - 28.80 0.50
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Table 2: Orion South Pense intersects and largest stone for each
lithology
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Depth Largest
LDD Hole No. Kimberlite From Depth To Interval Stone
Lithology (metres) (metres) (metres) (carats)
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LDD-140-07-001 Pense 147.43 266.13 118.70 5.21
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LDD-140-07-002 Pense 93.16 208.50 115.34 1.18
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LDD-141-07-001 Pense 98.34 253.07 154.73 2.81
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LDD-141-07-002 Pense 101.13 280.00 178.87 2.93
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TOTAL 567.64
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Table 3: Orion South Pense depth intersects and associated elevated
grades
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Depth
LDD Hole No. Kimberlite From Depth To Interval Grade
Lithology (metres) (metres) (metres) (cpht)
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LDD-140-07-001 Pense 153.35 162.80 9.45 28.50
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LDD-140-07-001 Pense 220.23 231.90 11.67 12.58
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LDD-140-07-001 Pense 260.85 266.13 5.28 9.04
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LDD-140-07-002 Pense 147.80 157.15 9.35 7.00
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LDD-140-07-002 Pense 194.65 208.50 13.85 17.85
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LDD-141-07-001 Pense 121.90 130.20 8.30 17.73
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LDD-141-07-001 Pense 171.60 181.60 10.00 26.54
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LDD-141-07-001 Pense 249.78 253.07 3.29 20.40
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LDD-141-07-002 Pense 172.00 180.90 8.90 7.08
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LDD-141-07-002 Pense 217.00 226.00 9 15.64
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LDD holes (1.2 metre diameter) are drilled using two Bauer BG36 drill rigs, which use Kelly-bar drilling for the till and mudstone overburden and switch to reverse circulation drilling when kimberlite is intersected. The LDD holes are drilled on the same grid as the PQ (75 millimetres) core drilling and the LDD holes are sited within three metres of an existing core hole that has been logged in detail. The subsurface geology of the LDD holes is known from the core drilling and detailed logging and this information is used to define the downhole sample breaks for the LDD. Hole volumes are accurately determined using a caliper and the volume to mass conversion is completed using on-site bulk kimberlite density measurements determined using the water immersion method (average bulk density: 2.25 grams per cubic centimetre). These bulk density measurements are correlated with specific gravity measurements determined by SGS Lakefield Research on the adjacent kimberlite core.
The diamond recovery procedure includes on-site processing of kimberlite through the modular Dense Media Separator (DMS), after which DMS concentrates are batch fed through an X-ray Flow-sort. In order to ensure the recovery of low luminosity diamonds, the Flow-sort tailings are processed over a grease table. Flow-sort and grease table concentrates are transported by a secure carrier to SGS Lakefield Research in Ontario for final diamond recovery. The SGS Lakefield Research process includes drying, screening, magnetic separation, manual sorting and diamond weighing and description. SGS Lakefield Research is accredited to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard by the Standards Council of Canada as a testing laboratory for specific tests.
The evaluation of the Orion Kimberlite Cluster within the FALC-JV, with a budget of approximately $66.5 million, is now the largest work program outlined for any of the Fort a la Corne kimberlites. Senior Vice President Exploration and Development, George Read, Professional Geoscientist in the Provinces of Saskatchewan and British Columbia, is the Qualified Person responsible for the verification and quality assurance of analytical results. Shore is a Canadian based corporation engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties. Shares of the Company trade on the TSX Exchange under the trading symbol "SGF".
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
From time to time, Shore makes written or oral forward-looking statements within the meaning of certain securities laws, including the "safe harbour" provisions of the Ontario Securities Act and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Shore may make such statements in this press release, in other filings with Canadian regulators or the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, in reports to shareholders or in other communications. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements with respect to Shore's objectives for the ensuing year, our medium and long-term goals, and strategies to achieve those objectives and goals, as well as statements with respect to our beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions. The words "may," "could," "should," "would," "suspect," "outlook," "believe," "plan," "anticipate," "estimate," "expect," "intend," and words and expressions of similar import are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In particular, statements regarding Shore's future operations, future exploration and development activities or other development plans contain forward-looking statements.
All forward-looking statements and information are based on Shore's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to Shore concerning anticipated financial performance, business prospects, strategies, regulatory developments, development plans, exploration, development and mining activities and commitments. Although management considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect.
By their very nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, and risks exist that predictions, forecasts, projections and other forward-looking statements will not be achieved. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on these statements as a number of important factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from the beliefs, plans, objectives, expectations, anticipations, estimates and intentions expressed in such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, developments in world diamond markets, changes in diamond valuations, risks relating to fluctuations in the Canadian dollar and other currencies relative to the US dollar, changes in exploration, development or mining plans due to exploration results and changing budget priorities of Shore or its joint venture partners; the effects of competition in the markets in which Shore operates; the impact of changes in the laws and regulations regulating mining exploration and development; judicial or regulatory judgments and legal proceedings; operational and infrastructure risks and the additional risks described in Shore's most recently filed Annual Information Form, annual and interim MD&A and short form prospectus, and Shore's anticipation of and success in managing the foregoing risks.
Shore cautions that the foregoing list of factors that may affect future results is not exhaustive. When relying on our forward-looking statements to make decisions with respect to Shore, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and potential events. Shore does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by Shore or on our behalf.
For further information: Adam Buchanan, Manager, Investor and Community Relations at (306) 667-3503
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