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RAPAPORT... Stornoway Diamond Corporation reported that its Renard 65 bulk sample of rough diamonds, valued by WWW International Diamond Consultants, reflected an average price of $250 per carat. The diamond price model for Renard 65 is now $180 per carat, with a high sensitivity of $203 per carat and a minimum sensitivity of $169 carat. The bulk sample valuation included two higher-value stones, a 9.77-carat, G, rough diamond of $8,500 per carat and a 6.40-carat, F, diamond of $5,900 per carat. Matt Manson, Stornoway's CEO, said, "This new valuation work has confirmed a high-quality diamond population at Renard 65 that we anticipate will now allow the addition of a substantial quantity of new, open-pit resources to the project's mine plan. Two features of this work stand out. First, the two large stones in the sample, previously announced by Stornoway, have been confirmed by WWW as amongst the most valuable stones recovered at the project to date. Their large impact in the parcel valuation has been tempered, appropriately, in the recommended base case price model, but their presence confirms a key characteristic of the Renard Project: upside value potential in large gems.
''Secondly, the WWW work has determined that Renard 65 possesses a diamond population with a different, and generally better, assortment of qualities than is seen in the other Renard kimberlite pipes. This has prompted a re-evaluation of the valuation models used in the project generally, which have previously been based on the assumption that Renard exhibits a single diamond population sampled by multiple pipes. The consequences of these findings for the project are significant, and positive," he said. The Renard 65 bulk sample was undertaken with a view to possibly convert material that is currently classified as inferred mineral resources to indicated mineral resources. Renard 65 contains an inferred mineral resource of 3.7 million carats, representing 12.9 million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 29 carats per hundred tonnes (CPHT), to a depth of 290 meters. An exploration potential exists for 6.8 million carats to 13.7 million carats from 290 meters to 775 meters in depth. The Renard mine plan returning a 17.9 million carat mineral reserve from Renard 2, 3 and 4 from a combined open-pit and underground mine at a processing rate of 6,000 tonnes per day. The addition of new open-pit resources at Renard 65 is expected to allow an increase in processing capacity to 7,000 tonnes per day and the extension of the project's reserve life, according to Stornoway.
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