Fort a La Corne reports positive results

George H. Read, P. Geo., Senior Vice President Exploration and Development, is pleased to announce the first set of diamond results from underground bulk sampling of the Orion South Kimberlite, within the Fort a La Corne Joint Venture (FALC-JV) where Shore is the operator with a 60 percent interest and Newmont Mining Corporation of Canada Limited (Newmont) has 40 percent.

The diamond recoveries total 97.06 carats from 604.79 dry tonnes of kimberlite processed. A total of 786 commercial sized diamonds (greater than 1.18 millimetre square mesh screen), collectively weighing 96.72 carats, has been recovered from these 4 batches. Ten diamonds greater than one carat have been recovered and the four largest stones are: 6.31, 3.21, 1.83 and 1.60 carats, respectively. In addition, 19 diamonds totaling 0.34 carats were recovered down to 0.85 millimetre square mesh. The colour of 45 percent of the diamonds has been classified as white, with a further 17 percent classified as off-white.

The well constrained geological model on Orion South enabled the sinking of the shaft in a central location to ensure ease of future underground access to the north and south of the shaft to sample the Early Joli Fou 1 and 2 (EJF1 and EJF2) and Pense Kimberlite lithologies. The pilot PQ (75 millimetres) core hole (141-07-081C) that preceded the shaft was drilled to a depth of 241 metres below surface and the geologic sequence logged from this hole is: 0-102 metres glacial overburden, 102-105 metres Late Joli Fou Kimberlite, 105-147 metres Early Joli Fou Kimberlite and 147-241 metres Pense Kimberlite. This pilot hole terminated in kimberlite and adjacent holes suggest that the kimberlite-sediment boundary occurs at approximately 270 metres below surface. The lithology of these four kimberlite batches is consistent with the pilot hole: OS-001 has 88 percent till dilution and the balance is Late Joli Fou (LJF) kimberlite; OS-002 is LJF with minor (5 percent) till dilution; OS-003 is predominantly EJF2 kimberlite with approximately 15 percent kimberlite breccia (KB) and the balance pyroclastic kimberlite (PK), and; OS-004 is EJF2KB.

The four largest stones are: 6.31, 3.21, 1.83 and 1.60 carats respectively. Two diamonds exceed two carats and 10 diamonds exceed one carat, of which one is white, 4 are grey, 4 are brown, and one is yellow. A total of 33 diamonds exceed 0.5 carats. Forty-five percent of this diamond parcel is classified white in colour, with a further 17 percent classified as off-white. 99.6 percent of the carat weight of this parcel occurs in diamonds greater than 1.18 millimetre square mesh.

Senior Vice President Exploration and Development, George Read, said these initial bulk sample diamond results confirm that kimberlite with elevated diamond grade (greater than 15 cpht) occurs at high levels in Orion South, in close proximity (some 2 metres) to the overlying glacial sediments. In contrast to the Star Kimberlite, Orion lacks the covering of Colorado mudstone, and glacial sediments of the overburden are in direct contact with Orion South Kimberlite. This stratigraphy will facilitate any potential future mining of Orion South. The EJF age kimberlite was not only intersected at shallower depths than in the Star Kimberlite shaft, but the EJF sampled to date shows higher grades than the EJF sampled in the shaft at the Star Kimberlite. Present estimates suggest that the three kimberlite lithologies (EJF1, EJF2 and Pense) account for a target of some 300 to 330 million tonnes of diamondiferous kimberlite in Orion South. This tonnage estimate is conceptual in nature, is not a resource and additional work may not necessarily lead to the definition of a resource on Orion South. The aim of this shaft sinking exercise is the recovery of substantial, representative diamond parcels, from each of the Orion South kimberlite lithologies, for diamond grade and price determinations. In addition to shaft sinking on Orion South, large diameter drilling is currently underway on the K120 Kimberlite that forms part of Orion North. To date, some 1,600 metres of large diameter drilling has been completed in seven drill holes.

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