Faraday 3 - Sample grade 1.67 carats per
tonne;
7.78 carat gem diamond recovered – largest
to date at Kennady North
Faraday 1 - Sample grade 2.91 carats per
tonne;
Largest diamonds recovered: 3.21 carats,
2.33 carats, 2.27 carats
Shares Issued and Outstanding:
50,802,933
TSX-V: KDI
TORONTO, June 19, 2017 /CNW/ - Kennady Diamonds Inc.
("Kennady Diamonds", the "Company") (TSX-V: KDI) is pleased to
announce diamond recovery results for the Faraday 3 and Faraday 1
kimberlites on its Kennady North Project. The samples were
collected during the winter 2017 program that was designed to
further delineate both kimberlites as well as to recover sufficient
carats from Faraday 3 for valuation (see news release
April 11, 2017). The program has
recovered the largest high-quality diamonds to date on the project,
including a 7.78ct white gem quality stone as well as numerous
diamonds exceeding one carat.
Faraday 3
A total of 460.5 carats of diamonds (+0.85mm) were recovered
from 276.4 tonnes for a sample grade of 1.67 carats per tonne. The
largest stone recovered is a 7.78 carat white/colorless octahedral
gem with no inclusions. A total of 26 diamonds of one carat or
greater were recovered, of which nine are gem quality and seven are
"near gem" quality. Since drilling was designed to sample the
thickest parts of the pipe in order to maximize carats recovered
for the purpose of resource definition, the sample grade reported
here may not be representative of the grade of the entire
kimberlite pipe.
Table 1 below summarizes the diamond recovery results from the
2017 Faraday 3 bulk sample.
Table 1 – Diamond recovery results from the winter 2017
Faraday 3 bulk sample.
Kimberlite
|
Sample
Weight1 (dry
tonnes)
|
Number of Diamonds per Square Mesh Sieve Division
(mm)
|
Total
Stones
(+0.85mm)
|
Total
Carats
(+0.85mm)
|
Sample
Grade2 (ct/t)
|
+0.850 -1.180
|
+1.180 -1.700
|
+1.700 -2.360
|
+2.360 -3.350
|
+3.350 -4.750
|
+4.750 -6.700
|
+6.700 -9.500
|
Faraday 3
|
276.4
|
2,417
|
3,284
|
1,245
|
449
|
110
|
10
|
4
|
7,519
|
460.5
|
1.673
|
Notes: 1 –
Sample weight is calculated from measured drillhole diameter and a
model of kimberlite bulk density. 2 – Includes two stones in the
+1.70mm, one in the +1.18mm, and eight from +0.85mm size class
recovered during DMS circuit cleanup and totaling 0.39 carats. 3 –
Sample grade is for diamonds greater than 0.85mm square mesh.
Rounding error may occur in the total carats and sample
grade.
|
The five largest diamonds recovered from the Faraday 3 bulk
sample are described by the SRC as:
- 7.78 carat white/colorless octahedron with no inclusions
- 4.02 carat white/colorless octahedron with minor
inclusions;
- 3.41 carat off-white octahedron with minor inclusions;
- 3.38 carat off-white octahedron with noticeable inclusions
- 3.08 carat off-white octahedron with no inclusions.
President and CEO of Kennady Diamonds, Dr. Rory Moore commented: "While the grade achieved
for the Faraday 3 kimberlite is in line with expectations, the
recovery of a high quality 7.78 carat gem from the sample is
extremely exciting. This stone represents the largest diamond
recovered from our bulk sampling activities on the project to
date." He further added; "As with Faraday 2, the size
distribution and quality characteristics of the Faraday 3 diamonds
appear better than those recovered from Kelvin to date, with a
notable trend of increased quality with diamond size and a higher
incidence of well-formed crystals in the larger size
fractions."
Images of select diamonds from the 2017 Faraday 3 bulk sample
will be posted on the Company's website at www.kennadydiamonds.com
under the tab "Media Links".
Faraday 1
A total of 76.8 carats of diamonds (+0.85mm) were recovered from
26.37 tonnes for a sample grade of 2.91 carats per tonne. The
largest stone recovered is a 3.21 carat white/colorless
tetrahexahedron. A total of 8 diamonds of one carat or greater were
recovered. Table 2 below summarizes the diamond recovery results
from the 2017 Faraday 1 bulk sample.
Table 2 – Diamond recovery results from the winter 2017
Faraday 3 mini-bulk sample.
Kimberlite
|
Sample
Weight1 (dry
tonnes)
|
Number of Diamonds per Square Mesh Sieve Division
(mm)
|
Total
Stones
(+0.85mm)
|
Total
Carats
(+0.85mm)
|
Sample
Grade2 (ct/t)
|
+0.850 -1.180
|
+1.180 -1.700
|
+1.700 -2.360
|
+2.360 -3.350
|
+3.350 -4.750
|
+4.750 -6.700
|
+6.700 -9.500
|
Faraday 1
|
26.37
|
442
|
478
|
172
|
65
|
20
|
7
|
0
|
1,184
|
76.8
|
2.913
|
|
Notes: 1 – Sample weight is calculated
from measured
drillhole diameter and
a model of kimberlite bulk
density.
2 – Includes one stone from the
+0.85mm size class recovered during DMS circuit cleanup and
totaling 0.014 carats. 3 – Sample grade is for diamonds greater
than 0.85mm square mesh. Rounding error may occur in the total
carats and sample grade.
|
The five largest diamonds recovered from the Faraday 1 bulk
sample are described by the SRC as:
- 3.21 carat white/colorless tetrahexahedron with noticeable
inclusions
- 2.35 carat off white translucent octahedron with no
inclusions;
- 2.31 carat off white transparent octahedron with no
inclusions;
- 1.94 carat brown transparent octahedral twin with noticeable
inclusions;
- 1.64 carat white/colorless tetrahexahedron with no
inclusions.
Dr. Moore commented: "We are highly encouraged by these initial
results for Faraday 1 that confirm the high-grade nature of the
kimberlite. The recovery of eight diamonds larger than one carat in
size from such a small sample provides strong evidence for a robust
size distribution, which together with quality characteristics that
are similar to the diamonds recovered from the other Faraday pipes,
confirms its potential to add considerable value to the growing
diamond resource on the Kennady North Project."
The Faraday kimberlites were sampled by large diameter reverse
circulation drilling and the recovered material was processed by
dense media separation ('DMS') at the Geoanalytical Laboratories
Diamond Services of the Saskatchewan Research Council ('SRC'). The
SRC is accredited by the ISO/IEC 17025 standard by the Standards
Council of Canada as a testing
laboratory for diamond analysis. As a measure of Quality
Assurance and Quality Control, a total of 32 laser-marked natural
diamond tracers ranging in size from 0.10 carat to 2.84 carat were
added to select sample bags at the SRC facility and all of the
tracers were recovered.
WWW International Diamond Consultants (WWW) has been retained to
provide an independent valuation of the Faraday bulk sample
diamonds together with size frequency distribution and revenue
models. The diamonds from all three Faraday kimberlites will be
shipped to Antwerp, Belgium and
the valuation is scheduled to take place in July with results
expected in early August.
About Kennady Diamonds
Kennady Diamonds Inc. controls
100 percent of the Kennady North diamond project located in
Canada's Northwest Territories. Kennady North is
adjacent to the Gahcho Kué Diamond Mine, a joint venture between De
Beers Canada (51%) and Mountain
Province (49%), which started production in late 2016.
Kennady is focused on expanding its high-grade diamond resources
along the Kelvin – Faraday kimberlite corridor, as well identifying
new kimberlites outside of the corridor. To date an indicated
resource of 13.62 million carats of diamonds contained in 8.50
million tonnes of kimberlite, with a grade of 1.60 carats per tonne
and an average value of US$63 per
carat has been defined for the Kelvin kimberlite using a 1mm
diamond bottom cutoff size. The Kelvin – Faraday corridor is also a
target for further exploration.
Qualified Persons
Mr. Howard
Coopersmith, a Professional Geologist and independent
consultant to the diamond industry, is the external Qualified
Person for sample processing and diamond recovery. This news
release has been prepared by Dr. Rory
Moore, P.Geo., President and CEO of Kennady Diamonds. The
technical contents of this news release have been reviewed and
approved by Mr. Coopersmith, and by Dr. Tom
McCandless, P. Geo., an independent director of Kennady
Diamonds and Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation
Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the
TSX Venture Exchange) has reviewed or accepts responsibility for
the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
FORWARD LOOKING INFORMATION
This news release
includes certain information that may constitute "forward-looking
information" under applicable Canadian securities legislation.
Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, the
Company's strategic plans, future operations, future work programs
and objectives. Forward-looking information is necessarily based
upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered
reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties,
and other factors which may cause the actual results and future
events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking information. There can be no assurance that such
information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future
events could differ materially from those anticipated in such
information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance
on forward-looking information. All forward-looking information
contained in this press release is given as of the date hereof and
is based upon the opinions and estimates of management and
information available to management as at the date hereof. The
Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise
any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise, except as required by
law.
SOURCE Kennady Diamonds Inc.