Post by luigi on Dec 22, 2004 14:35:16 GMT -5
www.stockwatch.com/swnet/newsit/newsit_newsit.aspx?bid=B-407974-C:UCA&symbol=UCA&news_region=C
United Carina et al. tackle Alberta
2004-12-21 20:51 ET - Street Wire
by Will Purcell
Rick Walker's Consolidated Pine Channel Gold Corp. and United Carina Resources Corp. have found some indicator promise on their grassroots Alberta diamond project. The two companies have long been diamond hunters, but Mr. Walker directed most of their effort in his home province of Saskatchewan. The two sister companies continue to focus their work in the Fort a la Corne region, which is currently the most promotable of the prairie diamond hunts by far. The Alberta play was big news in the late 1990s, but things are much quieter of late. Still, a new find or two would trigger a new surge of interest in an area that delivered a few intriguing grades.
The Alberta property
United Carina and Consolidated Pine made their Alberta move early this year, staking approximately 130,000 hectares of ground in the North Heart River area, just east of Peace River. That places the play within 100 kilometres to the southwest of most of the diamondiferous pipes found by Ashton Mining of Canada Ltd. on its Buffalo Hills play. Some of Ashton's finds are within 70 kilometres to the northeast of United Carina and Consolidated Pine's new property.
Diamond hunters were quietly poking around much of Alberta through the 1990s. The northern half of the province became hot in 1997, when Ashton turned up a series of kimberlite finds that caught the market's eye. The area play rapidly expanded across much of Northern Alberta, including the district surrounding what is now United Carina and Consolidated Pine's property.
Early in 1998, President Mines Ltd. picked up an option from Cambridge Minerals Ltd., covering ground near the North Heart River. Nothing much ever came of that. Several other juniors also grabbed claims in the area, but most of their efforts did not extend beyond a brief promotional campaign.
The region did attract some majors. De Beers was working in Alberta in the 1980s and the diamond giant found the Mountain Lake kimberlite about 15 years ago. That find was northeast of Grande Prairie, roughly 200 kilometres southwest of Ashton's play and about 100 kilometres southwest of Mr. Walker's ground. De Beers lost interest in its Mountain Lake find and the area in general, but the pipe carried several promotions through the late 1990s.
Kennecott Canada Exploration Inc. was another early arrival in Alberta. The exploration arm of Rio Tinto centred its early efforts in the Hinton area, roughly 200 kilometres south of United Carina and Consolidated Pine's new play. Kennecott ultimately did have kimberlite success in Alberta, but that was in the area northeast of Ashton's play.
Although the presence of De Beers and Kennecott helped drum up interest in the region, exploration of the ground surrounding Peace River was generally left to juniors. As a result, the region saw limited work at best.
With most of the nearest kimberlite finds about 100 kilometres to the northeast and to the southwest, the Peace River area might seem on the fringe of both plays. Nevertheless, the region produced some intriguing kimberlite indicator minerals. Those finds offer hope that the district hosts several kimberlites as well, as most of the mineral anomalies remain unexplained.
Consolidated Pine and United Carina collected a few samples of their own this year. One of two till samples produced a single pyrope garnet, but three stream sediment samples fared better. The tests revealed 13 pyrope garnets, 11 chrome diopsides and several olivine grains. The latter three samples came from the drainage of the North Heart River, and the river basin appears to be the source of the grains. As well, the surface condition of the minerals suggests a source much closer than Ashton's Buffalo Hills play.
The outcome is mildly encouraging, but Mr. Walker and his companies will have to step up the pace on the play in a big way, if they are to attract serious notice from investors. Through the first nine months of 2004, United Carina spent just $649 on exploration, a minuscule sum that its partner presumably matched. A busier surface sampling program could help things along, although geophysics proved effective for Ashton on its play to the northeast. Until United Carina and its partner come up with some drill targets, the Peace River play will be a tough tout.
The Alberta promise
Many speculators consider the Alberta diamond hunt to be a bust, but that is an unfair rap on a play that delivered several significantly diamondiferous pipes over several years. In all, Ashton produced 38 kimberlite pipes and 26 of the finds delivered at least a single microdiamond. That encouraging proportion establishes the area northeast of Peace River as diamond country. Several of the finds had enough diamonds to warrant mini-bulk tests, which added to the promise.
end part 1
www.stockwatch.com/swnet/newsit/newsit_newsit.aspx?bid=B-407974-C:UCA&symbol=UCA&news_region=C
United Carina et al. tackle Alberta
2004-12-21 20:51 ET - Street Wire
by Will Purcell
Rick Walker's Consolidated Pine Channel Gold Corp. and United Carina Resources Corp. have found some indicator promise on their grassroots Alberta diamond project. The two companies have long been diamond hunters, but Mr. Walker directed most of their effort in his home province of Saskatchewan. The two sister companies continue to focus their work in the Fort a la Corne region, which is currently the most promotable of the prairie diamond hunts by far. The Alberta play was big news in the late 1990s, but things are much quieter of late. Still, a new find or two would trigger a new surge of interest in an area that delivered a few intriguing grades.
The Alberta property
United Carina and Consolidated Pine made their Alberta move early this year, staking approximately 130,000 hectares of ground in the North Heart River area, just east of Peace River. That places the play within 100 kilometres to the southwest of most of the diamondiferous pipes found by Ashton Mining of Canada Ltd. on its Buffalo Hills play. Some of Ashton's finds are within 70 kilometres to the northeast of United Carina and Consolidated Pine's new property.
Diamond hunters were quietly poking around much of Alberta through the 1990s. The northern half of the province became hot in 1997, when Ashton turned up a series of kimberlite finds that caught the market's eye. The area play rapidly expanded across much of Northern Alberta, including the district surrounding what is now United Carina and Consolidated Pine's property.
Early in 1998, President Mines Ltd. picked up an option from Cambridge Minerals Ltd., covering ground near the North Heart River. Nothing much ever came of that. Several other juniors also grabbed claims in the area, but most of their efforts did not extend beyond a brief promotional campaign.
The region did attract some majors. De Beers was working in Alberta in the 1980s and the diamond giant found the Mountain Lake kimberlite about 15 years ago. That find was northeast of Grande Prairie, roughly 200 kilometres southwest of Ashton's play and about 100 kilometres southwest of Mr. Walker's ground. De Beers lost interest in its Mountain Lake find and the area in general, but the pipe carried several promotions through the late 1990s.
Kennecott Canada Exploration Inc. was another early arrival in Alberta. The exploration arm of Rio Tinto centred its early efforts in the Hinton area, roughly 200 kilometres south of United Carina and Consolidated Pine's new play. Kennecott ultimately did have kimberlite success in Alberta, but that was in the area northeast of Ashton's play.
Although the presence of De Beers and Kennecott helped drum up interest in the region, exploration of the ground surrounding Peace River was generally left to juniors. As a result, the region saw limited work at best.
With most of the nearest kimberlite finds about 100 kilometres to the northeast and to the southwest, the Peace River area might seem on the fringe of both plays. Nevertheless, the region produced some intriguing kimberlite indicator minerals. Those finds offer hope that the district hosts several kimberlites as well, as most of the mineral anomalies remain unexplained.
Consolidated Pine and United Carina collected a few samples of their own this year. One of two till samples produced a single pyrope garnet, but three stream sediment samples fared better. The tests revealed 13 pyrope garnets, 11 chrome diopsides and several olivine grains. The latter three samples came from the drainage of the North Heart River, and the river basin appears to be the source of the grains. As well, the surface condition of the minerals suggests a source much closer than Ashton's Buffalo Hills play.
The outcome is mildly encouraging, but Mr. Walker and his companies will have to step up the pace on the play in a big way, if they are to attract serious notice from investors. Through the first nine months of 2004, United Carina spent just $649 on exploration, a minuscule sum that its partner presumably matched. A busier surface sampling program could help things along, although geophysics proved effective for Ashton on its play to the northeast. Until United Carina and its partner come up with some drill targets, the Peace River play will be a tough tout.
The Alberta promise
Many speculators consider the Alberta diamond hunt to be a bust, but that is an unfair rap on a play that delivered several significantly diamondiferous pipes over several years. In all, Ashton produced 38 kimberlite pipes and 26 of the finds delivered at least a single microdiamond. That encouraging proportion establishes the area northeast of Peace River as diamond country. Several of the finds had enough diamonds to warrant mini-bulk tests, which added to the promise.
end part 1
www.stockwatch.com/swnet/newsit/newsit_newsit.aspx?bid=B-407974-C:UCA&symbol=UCA&news_region=C