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Borden Project |
In the summer of 1999, Opus Minerals Inc. and Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. conducted prospecting, till sampling and stream sediment surveys to delineate sources for kimberlitic indicator minerals that were known to occur in stream sediments on the Borden Peninsula. Five kimberlites in outcrops or as boulder rubble were delineated by this work. Petrographic analysis of the kimberlites showed that they were hypabyssal, poorly to moderately macrocrystic, monticellite kimberlites that contained few typical indicator minerals such as pyrope, chromite and chrome diopside. The kimberlites were deemed to have moderate diamond potential. The petrographic work also indicated that the kimberlites were derived from a fertile source within a zone of depleted mantle. One 24 kilogram sample of the K-1 pipe returned two microdiamonds but five other smaller samples were barren (three from the K-1 pipe and one each from K-3 boulders and the small K-5 pipe).
Results from the processing of stream sediment and till samples outlined a number of anomalous areas in addition to the ones around the known kimberlites. These results suggested that at least seven and possibly as many as ten other kimberlites were present. In the summer of 2000, five areas were selected as priorities for follow-up. Tracing of indicator mineral dispersion trains resulted in the discovery of seven new kimberlites, either in outcrop or as boulder rubble. Most appeared to be dykes less than two metres thick and were deemed to have low economic potential. No additional field work was done on the project by Mountain Province and Opus Minerals.
Patrician Diamonds, the predecessor company to Diamond Exploration Inc., staked mineral claims on the Borden Peninsula and entered into an agreement with Mountain Province Diamonds to acquire their database on the area. They conducted a brief prospecting and reconnaissance survey and recovered a 0.31 carat diamond of good quality from a small sample of kimberlite rubble collected from a stream bed in the Falls Area. This was deemed to be highly encouraging.
An airborne magnetic survey was completed over the region of known kimberlites and indicator mineral anomalies. The survey delineated a number of sub-circular to oval magnetic anomalies with diameters of a few hundreds of metres in the southern and western parts of the survey area. Amplitudes range from tens to hundreds of nanoTeslas. The signatures are similar to what would be expected from kimberlite diatremes in this setting. They are up-ice of strong indicator mineral anomalies and have been designated as priorities for field evaluation. These anomalies will be followed up by detailed prospecting and sampling in the next phase of work on the project.
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