DIAMONDS – Dominion Diamond Corp. Aug. 19 reported that the Ekati Diamond Mine and the Diavik Diamond Mine performed exceptionally well in the second fiscal quarter of 2015 (May through July). Rough diamond production, sales and pricing have all exceeded plan. At Ekati, diamond production totaled 802,000 carats grading 0.76 carats per metric tons in 1.06 million metric tons. That compared with 483,000 carats grading 0.44 cpt in 1.1 million metric tons during the same period of 2013 and was substantially ahead of plan for the second consecutive quarter due to higher than expected grades coupled with operational improvements to the processing plant implemented by the company over the past 10 months. Following the completion of open pit mining at the Fox pipe in May, increased resources have been allocated to waste stripping at the Misery pipe. Mining at Koala underground and Koala North is continuing according to plan, with the final development work for mining the remaining material in Koala North expected to be completed by the end of August. The company has received the final approvals to proceed with the development of the Pigeon pipe. The pumping out of the water from the Pigeon test pipe has been completed and waste stripping is expected to commence in August 2014. During the second quarter, Dominion promoted the Misery South and Misery Southwest satellite pipes to inferred mineral resources (total of about 3.9 million metric tons at an overall average grade of 1.3 carats per metric ton). An updated Ekati Mine Plan, including the inferred resource at Misery South and Southwest, was published on July 21. The company estimates that process plant improvements implemented over the last 10 months have increased the recovered grade by about 15 percent during the six-month period ending July 31; the process plant improvements are ongoing. The resulting additional diamonds are not currently included in the reserves and the mine plan. Once the process improvements have been substantially completed, Dominion intends to incorporate these higher recovery rates into an updated reserve statement later this year. The Diavik Diamond Mine continues to deliver a strong performance substantially ahead of plan for the second consecutive quarter of fiscal 2015. Ore mined at the Diavik Diamond Mine, where Dominion holds a 40 percent ownership interest, was 20 percent ahead of plan for the second quarter, and 16 percent ahead of plan for the fiscal year to date. On a 40 percent basis, the mine produced 879,000 carats grading 3.49 carats per metric tons in 248,000 metric tons. That compared with 602,000 carats grading 2.76 cpt in 207,000 metric tons during the year-ago period. This performance results from higher production from all three kimberlite pipes due to favorable ground conditions and improved availability of equipment. Ore processing was 29 percent ahead of plan for the three months ended July 31, and 23 percent ahead of plan for the fiscal year to date. This was predominately due to greater ore availability as a result of higher mining rates and improved equipment availability, equipment efficiencies and utilization of the processing plant. Dominion recorded total second quarter sales of US$277.3 million (US$261.8 million in Q2 fiscal 2013).

POLYMETALLIC – TerraX Minerals Inc. Aug. 18 reported assay results from a further 113 samples of the approximately 960 surface samples taken during a six week prospecting and mapping program now completed at the Yellowknife City gold project in the Northwest Territories. This batch of samples were collected during mapping of a 1,300-by-650-meter area immediately west of Homer Lake in the northern part of the Yellowknife project, with 99 grab and chip samples collected for assay and an additional 14 samples collected for whole rock analysis. Assay results ranged from below detection to 6.61 grams per metric ton gold, below detection to 357 g/t silver, 3 parts per million to 1.51 percent copper, 9 ppm to 7.02 percent zinc, and 5 ppm to greater than 20 percent lead. Two metal domains are apparent: a gold-copper domain to the west and a gold-silver-lead-zinc domain to the east. TerraX said both targets have good size potential. The origin of the two mineralization styles has not yet been determined, but both are considered worthy of further drill testing. Maps showing the distribution of mineralization at Homer Lake are available at www.terraxminerals.com. These domains were tested by two drill holes each in April, prior to their recognition. Holes TNB14-001 and 002 tested an electromagnetic anomaly in the western domain. The anomaly was determined to be caused by pyrrhotite and lesser chalcopyrite stringers. By contrast, holes TNB14-003 and 004 were drilled under the main trench in the eastern domain. These holes intersected high grade polymetallic zones surrounded by lower grade, but still polymetallic, mineralization. The best result was from hole TNB14-004, which returned 3.42 meters grading 3.41 g/t gold, 69.3 g/t silver, 3.67 percent lead and 3.17 zinc within a broader zone of 71.15 meters grading 0.25 g/t gold, 14 g/t silver, 0.73 percent lead and 0.57 percent zinc. TerraX President Joe Campbell said, "The Homer Lake mineralization has now been traced at surface over a strike length of approximately 1.5 kilometers and has been intersected by TerraX drilling to 150 meters vertical depth from surface, in historical drilling to (more than 300 meters) vertical depth, and mineralization remains open down-dip from this drilling. The nature of the mineralization remains unclear (synvolcanic or epigenetic), but the large areal extent and high polymetallic grades provides us with an excellent base metal target to supplement the numerous gold targets that are the primary focus of TerraX’s exploration on the YCGP.”