RE: RE: RE: Bishop13 ...Heavy,
its worth noting that while interesting colour characteristics will help drive any parcel valuation (either in Ontario or Quebec), its the sizes of stones (coloured or otherwise) that will impact most strongly on value of the rock
we could have 80% colour but if the majority of coloured stones are under 0.1 carats (and not of gem quality), that 80% volume might only account for 20% of parcel value.
probably more than half of the eventual dollar value of the Leadbetter bulk sample carat parcel will be derived from stones greater than 2 carats...... so give me plenty of +2 carat stones and to hell with the colour........ lol
Having said that, if even one of these +2 carat stones turns out to be purple then watch out......... THERE HAVE BEEN LESS THAN 100 PURPLE DIAMONDS GREATER THAN 1 CARAT FOUND ANYWHERE..... EVER
to be honest Im not sure what microdiamond data is telling us with regard to Leadbetter (or Ekomiak V) - other than the conglomerates are diamondiferous and its worthwhile proceeding to a large bulk sample at Leadbetter and further analysing the James Bay conglomerates. Remember, the whole body of knowledge around size distribution frequency etc is based around kimberlites as opposed to breccia's, lamproites or conglomerates.
with regard to the micro-macro-plastic deformation-quebec-argyle teaser you put out there......... Is it safe to assume that the the breakdown of colour in any deposit is going to be uniform between micros and macros?..... or is it the case that heat and pressure will have far more 'optical' impact on the smaller stones leading to a skewed colour situation in the microdiamond analysis?
Its an interesting question but I guess Im still more interested in the 'indicators' surrounding large stone potential, as opposed to coloured stone potential.
From that perspective it would be fantastic if JR could publish some of the patented(?) "Di Dollar" analysis that Fipke has performed in the CF Minerals lab to date........ the suggestion is that this analysis is pointing to the potential for some very large rocks
a 20 carat clear stone may be better for the medium term SP that a 1 carat purple?
On a final note, the thing about Argyle that Im focussing on is the fact that it supplies the majority of pink gem quality diamonds in the world market - along with a significant portion of the very rare purples........... however its nearing the end of its natural life and needs a successor........ which may very well end up being where we come in......