Chesterfield Inlet Diamond ProjectShear Minerals Ltd. (SRM:TSXV) announced the approval and commencementof a $550,00 exploration program for the 2010 Chesterfield InletDiamond Project, Nunavut in partnership with Rio Tinto ExplorationCanada Inc. (“Rio”). An airborne geophysical survey has commenced thatwill provide detailed data to select drill collar locations. Thisyear’s program will focus on a further assessment of a series of largetonnage kimberlite targets with exploration drilling of prospective,unexplained geochemical and geophysical targets.
“The goalfor 2010 is to discover new kimberlites with large tonnage potential inthe north part of the main Churchill Diamond Project.” said PamelaStrand, President and CEO of Shear Minerals Ltd. “We are incorporatinga lightweight drill to screen targets with faster production and atlower cost. This drilling method will quickly confirm whether a targetis of high diamond potential to warrant further follow-up.”
Experiencedcrews will be based at the 35-person Josephine Lake camp and willfollow up targeted anomalies identified in 2009 (see news release datedMarch 17, 2010) with investigation on the ground and subsequentdrilling using a lightweight reverse circulation percussion drill.
Details of the 2010 program include:
- Aeroquest ultra-resolution 2,177 line km airborne magnetic geophysical survey
- Till sampling
- Intensive prospecting and structural interpretation over high priority geochemical areas.
- Lightweight drill testing of up to 10 targets
- Selected ground magnetic surveys over new areas.
- Ongoing environmental baseline data collection and water sampling
The Project comprises a group of 35 mineral claims (70,000 acres)located within and near the North Corridor of the larger ChurchillDiamond Project. The Project area is located approximately 15 km northof the Josephine River Corridor and portions can be accessed by gravelroad from the community of Chesterfield Inlet. The Project has beenoutlined based on more than 25 priority geophysical targets suggestiveof kimberlites with potential for larger volume. This area covers theNorth Corridor, an indicator mineral dispersion area based on tillsamples from 2003-2006 having high count probe-confirmed kimberliticindicator minerals including pyrope garnet, eclogitic garnet, chromediopside, ilmenite and chromite.
In October 2009 a three dayprospecting program was completed at the Project in order to prioritizetargets of interest for further drilling. A total of 27 geophysicaltargets were prospected suggestive of larger tonnage kimberlites basedon magnetics or targets that had a distinct electromagneticassociation. In addition, five new kimberlite float occurrences werediscovered from prospecting and are being interpreted. Preliminaryvisual kimberlitic indicator minerals counts have been received from 12till samples collected in 2009 and results include pyrope garnet,eclogitic garnet, chrome diopside, ilmenite and chromite.
Underthe terms of the Option and Joint Venture Agreement, Shear andStornoway Diamond Corporation have jointly granted RTECI the right andoption to acquire, subject to all underlying royalties, up to a 70%interest in all mineral rights to the Project. RTECI has a FirstOption to acquire a 51% interest in the Project by incurringexploration expenditures of $100,000 before December 31, 2010 and anadditional $1,900,000 in exploration expenditures before December 31,2012. If the First Option is exercised, RTECI has an option tocomplete a Second Option whereby RTECI can earn an additional 19%interest in the Project by incurring an additional $4,500,000 inexploration expenditures before December 31, 2016. Shear will be theoperator during the First Option.
The Chesterfield Inlet DiamondProject is owned approximately 62.78% by Shear and 37.22% by StornowayDiamond Corporation. At the adjacent Churchill Diamond Project work ispresently focused on continued exploration of new promising indicatormineral trains and geophysical anomalies as well as the evaluation of asystem of significantly diamond-bearing, vertically-emplaced kimberlitedykes that have returned sample grades of up to 2.18 carats per tonne.The 2010 field program is under the supervision of Pamela Strand, P.Geol., a Qualified Person under NI 43-101, who has reviewed andapproved the contents of this news release.
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