Stellar Diamonds Provides Results From Tongo and Droujba
July 28, 13
(IDEX Online News) – Stellar Diamonds plc, a diamond developer focused on West Africa, has provided results of conceptual economic scoping studies from its Tongo and Droujba kimberlite diamond projects in Sierra Leone and Guinea.
At the Tongo Dyke-1 Scoping Study drilling and bulk sampling at Dyke-1 over the past 12 to 18 months have delivered an inferred resource of 1,074,000 carats at a grade of 120 carats per hundred tonnes (cpht) and an average modelled diamond value of $248 per carat.
At this grade and value, the in-situ kimberlite value is calculated to be $298 per tonne, which is considered to be a very high value for a kimberlite, the firm said. The resource can be increased with depth and from drilling adjacent diamondiferous kimberlites. Dyke-4 has a grade of 109cpht and diamond value $140/ct, giving an in-situ value of $153/t and Dykes-2 and 3 which have modelled grades of 140cpht and 185cpht respectively.
Meanwhile, the Droujba Pipe Scoping Study found a JORC-compliant inferred resource of 2.5 million carats. The surface bulk sample grade has been established at 88 cpht and the modeled diamond value is currently estimated at $45 per carat. The adjacent Katcha kimberlite dyke adds to the potential inferred resource base from this area. Drilling over 470 metres of the 5,000 meters strike length of Katcha has already defined 446,000 carats in JORC-inferred resource to 150 meter depth, at a grade of 140cpht and a modeled diamond value of $57 per carat.
Chief Executive Karl Smithson commented: “The economic scoping study of Tongo Dyke-1 defines a net present value which is many multiples of the Company’s current market capitalization, and the board believes this can be increased further through additional drilling to increase the existing 1.1 million carat resource base and potential life of mine.
“The board has therefore elected to prioritize the development of the Tongo project through the establishment and commencement of a full feasibility study whilst Droujba is placed on temporary care and maintenance. In parallel, the company continues to work towards the reinstatement of its Kono diamond exploration licenses through a combination of continued diplomacy and legal remedies.”