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Investment Update: Diamonds North Continues its Winning Ways

By Marc Davis, Managing Editor
October, 2007

Amaruk Property Yields Sparkling Results in the Shape of 11 New Diamond Pipes
Diamonds North Resources Ltd. (TSX.V-DDN) is arguably North America’s pre-eminent diamond exploration junior. Indeed, the Company’s key accomplishments so far this exploration serve to underscore this point.

For instance, the recent discovery of 11 new kimberlite pipes at the company’s whollyowned Amaruk Property in Nunavut is quite an accomplishment. And it surely brings Diamonds North one step closer to its quest to unearth this continent’s next multi-billion dollar diamond discovery.

To date, the Amaruk Property has yielded some rich pickings. This is where five diamond-bearing pipes have already been discovered – two of which have yielded plentiful enough diamonds to warrant two bulk samples.

Specifically, high diamond counts have been generated from the Qavvik and Char kimberlites. The former yielded 515 diamonds from a 379-kilogram rock sample, while the latter returned 178 diamonds from 159.35 kilograms of kimberlite.

These diamonds included an abundance of good quality stones by way of very encouraging colour, shape and clarity, according to the experts.

Notably, the expansive wholly-owned two-million-acre Amaruk Property that offers so much promise is part of Canada’s newest diamond territory, the Pelly Bay Diamond District.

And the prospect of more pipes that compare favourably with Qavvik and Char has now presented itself in the form of the first batch of new discoveries at this sprawling, two million-acre property.

Certainly the fact that all five of the initial five pipe discoveries are diamondiferous speaks to the fact that an extensively fertile diamond mantle obviously exists beneath a property that has never been drilled before prior to Diamonds North’s inaugural drilling program last year.

Little is known as yet about the size and scope of the 11 new pipe discoveries as assay results are still pending but any one of them could prove to be the next Ekati or Diavik diamond mines.

However, the following information sheds some light on their potential and the implications for more important finds:

Five of these new pipes were discovered in the vicinity of the richly-diamondiferous Qawik-1 pipe and have been named Qavvik-2 through Qavvik-6. Four more pipes (Tuktu-1 through Tuktu-4) form the Tuktu kimberlite cluster about 15 kilometres west of Qavvik-1. Abundant diamond indicator minerals associated with these kimberlites suggest excellent diamond potential.

Then there’s the new Ptarmigan kimberlite, which was discovered 20 kilometres south of Qavvik-1. Numerous untested targets nearby suggest the potential for additional kimberlites forming a cluster.

Finally, the discovery of Umingmak-2 near the Umingmak-1 kimberlite (drilled in 2006) confirms kimberlite clustering in the area. Again, Umingmak-1 yielded diamonds with a high clarity, a white colour and a high proportion of octahedral crystals.

An Emerging New Diamond-Rich District Promises a Wealth of Opportunities
However, this newest group of pipes represents just the tip of the iceberg. Over 500 airborne geophysical targets have been generated, any number of which may yet prove to be kimberlites. By ways of encouragement, kimberlite clusters often involve between 10 and as many as 50 pipes.

About 200 targets have been singled out for further detailed ground-based geophysics within an area measuring about 90 kilometres by 30 kilometres in the central portion of the property.

Though the task of eventually probing many dozens of targets may seem daunting, Diamonds North has found a way to expediently test drill those that offer the best potential. Starting this year with the first 60 high-priority targets, the Company will use small, lightweight, portable reverse circulation drills to bore into each target.

This has proved to be an effective strategy elsewhere in Canada, especially since the crowns of kimberlite pipes in this part of the world are usually located at or near surface and have a large diameter. In the case of Amaruk, some of the targets have geophysical features measuring up to 16 hectares in size.

Furthermore, indicator mineral trains (which are synonymous with diamondiferous pipes) suggest that potentially more than one kimberlite cluster exists over a span of 80 kilometres on the Amaruk project.

By way of explanation, kimberlites are typically found in relatively tight groupings, like the pellets from a shotgun blast, which can be spread out over as many as several dozen kilometers.

In turn, Amaruk is such an immensely proportioned property, that it may indeed be home to more than one constellation of sparkling pipes.

In addition to drilling and bulk sampling, an extensive airborne survey will be flown over the northern part of Amaruk, where kimberlite indicator trains point to the existence of a second kimberlite field.

In essence, the advent of a busy drill season for Diamonds North, along with two bulk sample programs, offer particularly powerful value drivers for the Company this year.

This is key as this determined up-and-comer seems to have unlocked the secret to locating diamond-rich pipes in a new diamond territory that offers untapped multi-billion dollar potential.

Sparkling Diamond Results and Geochemistry at Amaruk Compare Favourably to Diavik and Ekati Diamond Mines
The next benchmark development for this project involves collecting much larger samples from each of the Qavvik and Char kimberlites by way of a bulk sampling program (which is a key part of a 2007 work program that has a $6 million budget).

A total of 6-10 tonnes is being excavated from each pipe this summer/fall. The objective of the bulk sampling is to obtain a representative diamond grade and size distribution for these key discoveries to better assess their economic potential.

Of equal importance, these pipes exhibit diamond-indicating geochemistry that is comparable to the best pipes that make up the Diavik and Ekati mines. Indeed, the importance of the discovery of high diamond counts in the first two of what promises to be many similar discoveries at this project cannot be overstated.

This reality is not lost on Diamonds North President and CEO Mark Kolebaba, a seasoned diamond explorationist who has worked along side the best and brightest in the business. He has also been involved in the discovery of as many as 123 pipes in the Lac de Gras region of the Northwest Territories – the very best of which are now producers at the Ekati mine.

Kolebaba interprets the recovery of nearly 700 mostly tiny diamonds from Qavvik and Char as auspicious indicators that Diamonds North is finally zeroing-in on a major worldclass diamond field.

“Given that Char and Qavvik are 35 kilometres apart, Amaruk may be the first big diamondiferous kimberlite field discovered in Canada since Ekati and Diavik. In fact, Amark clearly demonstrates the potential for a major diamond deposit similar to the Ekati and Diavik diamond mines."

SmallCapMedia therefore remains confident that the ongoing Phase II of drilling at the Amaruk Property and the Company’s exploration efforts elsewhere among its stellar land package should provide plenty of upbeat news flow in the coming months.

All of which should ensure that Diamonds North’s share price is primed to be a solid performed in the coming months and beyond. Furthermore, patient investors are well-positioned to profit immeasurably from the prospect of a “home run” discovery that seems to be well within the Company’s reach.

 


 


 
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