Dianor to dig deep for diamond-studded future; Waiting in Wawa for bulk sampling approvals.

• Author: Stewart, Nick
• Position: MINING

After a year's worth of preparation, Dianor Resources is gearing up to spend $30 million this fall to try and see just how much sparkle sits on their Wawa-area diamond project.

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If approved, Dianor will kick off an 18-month bulk sampling program to help identify the economic potential of their Leadbetter Project, located 12 kilometres northeast of Wawa.

Prepared by consultants from Sudbury, Wawa, Montreal and Val d'0Or over the last twelve months, Dianor's mine closure plans have been submitted to the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines (MNDM).

"This will give us our first good look at the potential economics of the diamond project out there," says John Ryder, president and CEO of Dianor. "Mainly, it's to get a valuation of the diamonds, but there's also room to see other minerals in there that may be worth looking at."

The bulk sampling will result in the extraction of 34,000 tonnes of material from Lead-better in the hopes of producing from 7,000 to 13,000 carats of diamonds. This will allow for a better understanding of their economic potential, and give a stronger idea of where future efforts should be focused.

While the exact starting date is at the mercy of the approvals process, other factors include the purchase and establishment of related equipment. The sheer volume of rock being extracted on a daily basis will require the establishment of a 20-tonne-per-hour processing plant. This will involve the use of crushers, X-ray sorters, and dense media separation circuits.

As gold, rubies and sapphires are also present in the rock, adjustments will be made to the standard circuit to determine their recovery potential. This will also help to see what potential they may play in the project's economic potential.

The excavation will be carried out on two separate areas of the Leadbetter property, both being dug out of the side of a hill at 15-degree slopes. One 400-metre tunnel will see the extraction of 19,000 tonnes of material from the northern end of the property; a 300-metre tunnel will pull out the remaining 15,000 tonnes from the central portion of the site.

In the meantime, Ryder is pushing forward with further exploration on other areas of the property, with a 6,000-metre infill drill program planned for later in the year.

Another source of encouragement for Dianor is just three kilometres away from Lead-better: the Mori Joint Venture where Dianor has a 30 per cent stake.

Metalex Ventures Ltd., the...