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Post by Franko10 ™ on Oct 13, 2005 10:38:54 GMT -5
New diamond exploration company spin-off of Great Western Minerals
More than $1 million to be spent on exploration program in Candle Lake area
Murray Lyons
The StarPhoenix
Thursday, October 13, 2005
A new, publicly-traded diamond exploration company has been launched in Saskatoon as a spin-off of Great Western Minerals Group. Both companies are led by long-time Saskatchewan mining promoter Gary Billingsley.
The initial public offering, which closed earlier this month, raised $2.5 million for Great Western Diamonds Corp. through sale of flow-through shares which provide tax credits to investors.
According to the prospectus of the new company, more than $1 million will be spent soon on an exploration program in the Candle Lake area where previous exploration work has indicated the presence of diamonds in kimberlite formations. Some of the money raised will be used to repay Great Western Minerals for exploration work already conducted.
The shares of the new company began trading on the TSX Venture Exchange on Oct. 11. Issued at 33 cents, the shares have moved up marginally in the past few days of trading.
Alan Cruikshank, head of the Union Securities operation in Saskatoon, says it's good for local investors to have another diamond play within the province, especially one that is in the early stages.
"I think there is an ever increasing interest in the Fort a la Corne diamond area and Great Western Diamonds is a further extension of the potential," Cruikshank said.
"Shore Gold and Kensington Resources have demonstrated the potential of the area and done the heavy lifting to showcase the diamond potential of Saskatchewan."
Geologically, the Candle Lake kimberlites, located north and east of the resort village near the junction of Highways 120 and 106, may be older than the kimberlites to the southeast in the Fort a la Corne forest, some 50 kilometres to the southeast. There is also a cluster of kimberlites in between, found near the villages of Snowden and Smeaton.
It has taken some years for Great Western to work out a settlement agreement with previous royalty holders of the Candle Lake properties. At one time in the mid-1990s, Canadian mining company Kennecott Canada Inc., a subsidiary of mining giant Rio Tinto, showed interest in the property, but abandoned its chance to earn a 60 per cent interest by 1998.
Nevertheless, Kennecott sent some core samples in 1998 to be examined at the Diavik bulk sample plant in Yellowknife, NWT, and those samples showed macro-diamond presence.
Core samples of kimberlite extracted last year were sent to the Saskatchewan Research Council for analysis.
More than $1 million to be spent on exploration program in Candle Lake area
Murray Lyons
The StarPhoenix
Thursday, October 13, 2005
A new, publicly-traded diamond exploration company has been launched in Saskatoon as a spin-off of Great Western Minerals Group. Both companies are led by long-time Saskatchewan mining promoter Gary Billingsley.
The initial public offering, which closed earlier this month, raised $2.5 million for Great Western Diamonds Corp. through sale of flow-through shares which provide tax credits to investors.
According to the prospectus of the new company, more than $1 million will be spent soon on an exploration program in the Candle Lake area where previous exploration work has indicated the presence of diamonds in kimberlite formations. Some of the money raised will be used to repay Great Western Minerals for exploration work already conducted.
The shares of the new company began trading on the TSX Venture Exchange on Oct. 11. Issued at 33 cents, the shares have moved up marginally in the past few days of trading.
Alan Cruikshank, head of the Union Securities operation in Saskatoon, says it's good for local investors to have another diamond play within the province, especially one that is in the early stages.
"I think there is an ever increasing interest in the Fort a la Corne diamond area and Great Western Diamonds is a further extension of the potential," Cruikshank said.
"Shore Gold and Kensington Resources have demonstrated the potential of the area and done the heavy lifting to showcase the diamond potential of Saskatchewan."
Geologically, the Candle Lake kimberlites, located north and east of the resort village near the junction of Highways 120 and 106, may be older than the kimberlites to the southeast in the Fort a la Corne forest, some 50 kilometres to the southeast. There is also a cluster of kimberlites in between, found near the villages of Snowden and Smeaton.
It has taken some years for Great Western to work out a settlement agreement with previous royalty holders of the Candle Lake properties. At one time in the mid-1990s, Canadian mining company Kennecott Canada Inc., a subsidiary of mining giant Rio Tinto, showed interest in the property, but abandoned its chance to earn a 60 per cent interest by 1998.
Nevertheless, Kennecott sent some core samples in 1998 to be examined at the Diavik bulk sample plant in Yellowknife, NWT, and those samples showed macro-diamond presence.
Core samples of kimberlite extracted last year were sent to the Saskatchewan Research Council for analysis.
