Mining News: Northern Neighbors: Crystal buys 3 Nunavut diamond properties

Crystal Exploration Inc. Nov. 25 said it has acquired three diamond properties in the Nunavut portion of the Slave Structural Province of the Canadian Shield. The properties encompass the Muskox, Rush and James River diamond-bearing kimberlites. The Muskox kimberlite, which was discovered in 1996 by DeBeers Canada and explored through joint venture with Tahera Corp. to 2006, is known to yield diamond grades during a magmatic phase of 0.53 carats per metric ton and diamond grades during a pyroclastic phase of 0.35 carats per metric ton. The largest three diamonds recovered from Muskox were a broken 2.73 carat white octahedron, a broken 2.67 carat brown octahedron and a 1.61 carat white octahedron. “Crystal is extremely excited to work and develop these projects where tens of millions of dollars of exceptional geological work was performed in the past,” said Crystal President and CEO Jim Greig. “In addition to revisiting and understanding the potential at the Muskox diamond-bearing pipe, the Crystal team is examining over 113 anomalies where De Beers Canada originally reported 15 high-priority drill targets.” Crystal Exploration, an Edmonton, an Alberta-based company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange, changed its name from Trigold Resources Inc. in October.

- Shane Lasley