2015/2016 Season:

Date Speaker Talk Abstract
27 May 2016 Dr. Andrea de Stefano, Ayaka Shiroki, Dr. Volodymyr Zhuk, Matt Gaudet, Stornoway Corp. Detailed studies of Renard 2 kimberlite - some practical aspects  
May 5, 2016 Buddy Doyle, President & CEO, Amarillo Gold Corp Testing the Economic Viability of Diamondiferous Kimberlite Discovery of a diamondiferous kimberlite is a rare event, but often the least expensive and simplest aspect of the exploration and evaluation process. In contrast, testing the economic viability of a kimberlite pipe is a complex and expensive task; it requires a carefully considered method for drill-testing, microdiamond sampling, and bulk sampling, using the minimum expenditure to obtain a desired confidence limit. Obtaining 3-D samples of each kimberlite rock type is best accomplished through large-diameter core for high-grade kimberlite, or large-diameter RC rigs or shafts for lower grade kimberlite. Microdiamond sampling of each major rock type requires sufficient sampling to produce 30 stones (no less than 10 stones) in each sieve size, and 30 stones above the 1.18 mm sieve size. This allows for the determination of smooth and reliable SFD curves that can be used in the determination of a plus-or-minus 20% grade estimate. SFD curves will guide the design of the bulk-sampling stage. A kimberlite bulk sample should include a minimum of 30 sub-samples from each major rock type. Each of these sub-samples must be of sufficient size to contain commercial diamonds, preferably at least 30 stones greater than 1.18 mm. Diamond populations within each of these sub-samples can produce a widely variable grade due to the nugget effect of larger stones. The presenter will discuss guidelines for bulk sampling, methods for dealing with nugget effects in sub-samples, and case-studies from past bulk sampling programs.
March 30, 2016 Dr. George Read, Chief Geologist, Shear Diamonds Inc. Star-Orion Diamond project: Revised Mineral Resource Estimate The talk will review near-term exploration plans for the North Slave Craton area around Muskox and Jericho pipes. The ground abandoned by Shear Diamonds has been taken by Crystal Exploration Inc., a Canadian public company traded on the TSX Venture Exchange. The advanced N Slave projects hold near $100 million in past exploration expenditures that includes extensive geophysics, till sampling, kimberlite indicator minerals (KIMs), diamond indicator minerals (DIMs), bulk sampling and drilling. The Muskox Kimberlite Pipe is Crystal’s most advanced asset with large tonnage (non NI43-101, >16mt) potential with grades near 0.50 cpt. Future exploration plans include drilling new high-priority discovery targets during the summer 2017. Crystal has identified 6 anomalous magnetic targets (high & low) that is supported by KIMs and pick results and additional 12 areas for spring ground geophysics that could provide more targets for drilling.
January 20, 2016 Tom McCandless Perspectives on the Buffalo head Hills Kimberlites from new data  
December 4, 2015 Casey M. Hetman, SRK Consulting Canadian Diamonds: Past, Present and Future Over the past quarter-century, skeptics became believers as Canadian diamond industry pioneers transformed Canada into one of the top five diamond producing countries by carats and by value. While the current financial climate and the recent decline in global rough diamond prices are providing significant challenges for companies to raise funds for exploration, active Canadian producers have seen surges in production over the past year on both a carat and value basis. The opportunity for discovery and development of economic diamond deposits in Canada remains significant, and the success of those projects will require thoughtful consideration of the factors contributing to the successes, and the failures, of both past and current diamond projects.This talk will include technical reviews of 2014 diamond production figures, recently or currently active production projects, and currently active advanced feasibility-stage projects, with a discussion of future directions for Canadian diamond resource development.
October 28, 2015 Randy Turner, President, CEO, Canterra Minerals Corporation The great Canadian Diamond Rush  
September 23, 2015 Dr. Michelle Tappert, Post-Doctoral Research Fellow, University of Alberta Advancements in hyperspectral drill-core imaging of kimberlites: examples from Snap Lake and Tango Extension The talk will discuss the work developing data-analysis techniques for automated long-wave and short-wave IR hyperspectral imaging of kimberlite. These techniques were developed for applications in exploration and mining settings, on a range of geologic materials, and have demonstrated success at characterizing crustal dilution, and identifying kimberlite compositional units. The presentation will cover the collection and interpretation of this data collected from two DeBeers owned kimberlites, Snap Lake and Tango Extension.

 

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