Margaret Lake Diamonds Inc. announce it has received the final caustic fusion diamond results from drill testing the Arbutus kimberlites at the Diagras Diamond Project (“Diagras”), obtained from the 2022 Spring diamond drilling program.
The Diagras project is located in the prolific diamond production district of Lac de Gras in the Northwest Territories and is a Joint Venture (the “JV”) between MLD (18.5%) and Arctic Star Exploration Corp. (81.5%). (“Artic Star”).
The Arbutus caustic fusion diamond results are listed in bold, in the table below, along with our other discoveries on the Diagras property to date. Scanning the table, it can quickly be seen the Arbutus result is the second-best result to date.
Yari Nieken, President & Chief Executive Office of Margaret Lake Diamonds, stated: “The new Arbutus 2022 kimberlite discovery at Diagras Diamond Project, shows the effectiveness of the exploration program the experienced team at JV partner Artic Star have implemented, as well as the significant potential to grow the project within the land position we have. The recent exploration work was professionally undertaken and delivers further important data that will expedite future exploration on the multiple new and already identified targets within Diagras. I would like to thank the local community for their support, and we will continue to work closely with Artic Star as we plan further drilling at Diagras and future discoveries.”
A total of 143.05 kg of half NQ core, consisting of 18 samples weighing on average 7.9kg, where sent to the Saskatchewan Research Council Geoanalytical Laboratories Diamond Services (“GLDS”) in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan which is an ISO/IEC 17025:2005 Accredited Laboratory for laboratory procedures. The samples undergo a caustic fusion process where they are fused in kilns under heat for 24 hours to form a residue. The residue is then further chemically treated and hand-picked for diamonds utilizing a microscope. Each sample is spiked with distinct artificial diamonds to ensure good recovery. The Laboratory is a Standard Council of Canada Accredited Laboratory (SCC).
The diamond distribution is relatively coarse, (lower ratio of small diamonds to large diamonds). This is always considered positive. A description of the diamonds is given for those 0.3mm and above, of which there are 8. Of these 2 are grey and translucent, 5 are white to off white, and 1 is yellow. All are described as aggregates or fragments. These stones are too small to be considered gem and there are too few to make any economic comment. Yellow stones are rare in the Lac de Gras field.
Table 1. Caustic Fusion Results: All Diagras Discoveries descending order of stones per 100/kg
A chain of custody protocol was used. Sample weights are dry weights. A total of 143.05 kg of half NQ core, from drill hole 8 and full core from drill hole 9 consisting of 18 samples weighing on average 7.9kg, where sent to the Saskatchewan Research Council laboratory, in Saskatoon. There they undergo a caustic fusion process where the samples are fused in kilns under heat for 24 hours to form a residue. The residue is then further chemically treated, the final product is then hand-picked for diamonds utilizing a microscope. Each sample is spiked with distinct artificial diamonds to ensure good recovery. The Laboratory is SCC accredited, (ISO/IEC 17025).
The Arbutus Kimberlite is adjacent and to the south of the Finlay kimberlite discovered in the 1990’s. Previous workers drilled several holes into Finlay but never made the results public. With Arbutus proving diamond positive the JV now plans to test Finlay for diamonds.
The JV awaits the diamond results from the Spring drilling program on Sequoia, which should become available over the next weeks. Once these diamond results are in hand the JV will be able to scope further work on Sequoia. The JV also plans to continue to explore for new kimberlites on the Diagras property in 2023.
About Margaret Lake Diamonds Inc.
MLD is a Canadian based mineral exploration company. As part of its joint venture with Arctic Star Exploration Corp., MLD holds an 18.5 per cent interest in the Diagras diamond project Northwest Territories property. The property hosts 13 known kimberlites originally discovered by DeBeers in the 1990’s and MLD believes there is an opportunity to apply modern exploration techniques to define additional kimberlites.
Qualified Person
The Qualified Person for this news release is Buddy Doyle, AUSIMM, a Geologist with over 35 years of experience in diamond exploration, discovery, and evaluation. A Qualified Person under the provisions of the National Instrument 43-101.
On behalf of the Board
Margaret Lake Diamonds Inc.
“Yari Nieken”
President, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman Tel: 604.328.0425 | Email: [email protected]
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