The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North

ME2018: North Arrow Minerals Inc.

North Arrow Minerals Inc. is focused on the identification and evaluation of its seven diamond projects in Canada – Naujaat, Mel and Luxx in Nunavut; Lac de Gras and Loki in Northwest Territories; Pikoo in Saskatchewan; and Timiskaming in Ontario.

In February, the company reported the recovery of 64.25 carats of commercial sized diamonds from a 209.8-metric-ton mini-bulk sample collected from the Q1-4 kimberlite at Naujaat. The three largest diamonds from the sample are 5.25, 2.09 and 1.06 carats. Yellow diamonds made up 10.7 percent of the stones and 21.2 percent by carat weight.

Evaluation of the Q1-4 kimberlite exposed with a mini-excavator in 2017 identified a north trending internal contact between distinct kimberlite phases. Kimberlite to the west of the contact, known as green kimberlite, accounted for roughly 30 percent of the pit area and to the east of the contact, blue kimberlite made up the balance.

The 2017 sample was divided and processed separately as three subsamples – 31 bags of green kimberlite, 60 bags of blue kimberlite and 159 bags of mixed blue-green kimberlite. The total sample averaged 0.31 carats per metric ton, with all subsamples returning similar grades

A significant population of potentially high value orange-yellow diamonds was identified in a separate phase of kimberlite sampled during drilling of Q1-4 in 2014. Roughly 9.9 percent of the diamonds recovered from the 2017 blue kimberlite subsample were yellow, which is a similar proportion as yielded in 2014. Fewer of the yellow diamonds, however, were present in the green kimberlite.

In April, North Arrow announced the discovery of a new kimberlite on its Loki property in the Lac de Gras region of Northwest Territories.

Roughly 19 miles (30 kilometers) southwest of the Ekati Mine and 15 miles (24 kilometers) west of the Diavik Mine, Loki is found in a region known for its rich diamond deposits.

North Arrow narrowed down the drill targets at Loki with surface sampling completed in 2016 and geophysical surveys in 2017.

This work turned up several prospects, including target 465, a very prominent circular geophysical anomaly at what appears to be the up-ice end of a diamond-bearing kimberlite indicator minerals train.

The second hole of the 2018 program at Loki cut a 20.85-meter interval of black to olive green kimberlite that is generally altered and kimberlite indicator minerals, including altered olivine and rare garnet.

In addition to the discovery of 465, a single drill hole tested the central portion of EG05, a kimberlite first drilled by three holes in 1999, all of which cut kimberlite over their entire length. The hole was drilled to gain a better understanding of diamond distribution within the kimberlite.

The vertical penetration encountered re-sedimented volcaniclastic kimberlite below 17.5 meters of ice, water and overburden and ended in volcaniclastic kimberlite at a depth of 169 meters.

At Lac de Gras, a joint venture diamond exploration project about 10 kilometers (six miles) south of the Diavik Mine, Dominion Diamond Mines funded a C$2.8 million exploration program. This program includes additional geophysics and drilling. As a result of Dominion's funding, North Arrow's JV interest in Lac de Gras is expected to be diluted to around 27 percent.

Not needing to invest in Lac de Gras, North Arrow directed C$3.1 million it raised in June to the first-ever drilling at Mel, testing diamondiferous kimberlite discovered last year; further exploration at Loki; and continued evaluation of the Q1-4 kimberlite at the Naujaat.

-SHANE LASLEY

North Arrow Minerals Inc. - TSX.V: NAR

Chairman: D. Grenville Thomas

President and CEO: Kenneth Armstrong

Advisor: Eira Thomas

Ste. 960 - 789 West Pender St., Vancouver, BC V6C 1H2

Tel: 1-604-668-8355

 

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