North Arrow Minerals Inc has reported recovery of 1,991 diamonds greater than +1 DTC (~1 mm) weighing 64.25 carats from a 209.8 tonne mini-bulk sample collected in July 2017 from the diamondiferous Q1-4 kimberlite at the Naujaat Diamond Project, Nunavut with an overall sample grade of 30.6 cpht (carats per hundred tonnes).

The purpose of the 2017 sample was to acquire further information on the commercial sized (+1 mm) diamond population in the under sampled A88 phase of the kimberlite,North Arrow reported.

In a statement released yesterday, the junior miner said that there were six diamonds larger than the 3 grainer (~0.6 carat) size. The three largest diamonds were 5.25 carats (dark translucent, yellow to brown to white cubic aggregate), 2.09 carats (pale grey rounded aggregate with inclusions), and 1.06 carats (very pale green-yellow rounded flattish diamond with inclusions). North Arrow also said that the 2.09 carat stone retains some external kimberlite coating that would be removed with cleaning.

It added that yellow diamonds, representing a range of hues and tones, made up approximately 10.7% (by stone count) of the recovered diamonds (21.2% by carat weight).

In addition, it reported that diamonds recovered from a subsample of the A88 phase (‘Blue’ kimberlite) include a similar proportion of yellow diamonds as seen in 2014 sampling of the A28 phase, while the ‘Green’ kimberlite unit, also processed as a separate subsample, is interpreted as a previously unrecognised and volumetrically minor unit in the Q1-4 kimberlite and contains proportionately fewer coloured diamonds than the A88 and A28 phases.

Ken Armstrong, President and CEO of North Arrow, commented, “Diamond results from the 2017 mini-bulk sample have confirmed the presence of an important yellow diamond population in the A88 phase of the Q1-4 kimberlite. Further, the identification of the Green kimberlite as a new, previously unrecognized phase within Q1-4 underscores the under-evaluated nature of this diamond deposit. Q1-4 requires further evaluation, in particular the collection of a larger bulk sample of sufficient size to better determine the spatial and size distributions of Q1-4’s diamond population including potentially higher value coloured diamonds.”

Armstrong pointed out that the results will help plan the collection of a larger bulk sample for the purposes of diamond valuation in support of an economic assessment of the deposit.