Shore Gold on Taurus Kimberlite

Shore Gold provides the following update on the Taurus Kimberlite Cluster, 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 Taurus Cluster lies to the west of the Orion Cluster and includes eight coalescing kimberlites (150, 118, 152, 218, 154, 155 and 156) that result in over 6 kilometres of contiguous kimberlite as compared to the Orion Cluster which includes over 7 kilometres of contiguous kimberlite (a total of 1.2 to 1.4 billion tonnes of kimberlite have been modeled within the Orion Cluster). Taurus Cluster kimberlites have been the targets of substantial drilling (87 holes, 19,302 metres drilled, 8,140 metres kimberlite intersected) by previous operators of the FALC-JV. Fifty holes of archival core samples from these historic drill programs have now been re-logged in detail by Shore geologists and extensive areas of coarse grained kimberlite have been identified in kimberlites K118, K122 and K150.

Detailed analysis of kimberlite grain size data from Star and Orion South has shown a positive relationship between diamond grade, stone size and coarse kimberlite grain size. The coarse kimberlite grain size relates to the presence of kimberlite breccia (KB), which, in the case of Star, not only contains higher diamond grade, but also larger diamonds that result in higher diamond prices, when compared to the pyroclastic kimberlite (PK). Kimberlites K118, K122 and K150 are scheduled for large diameter drilling (LDD) in 2008, due to their significant volumes of coarse kimberlite. Assuming positive diamond results from the 2008 LDD program, additional pattern core drilling will be proposed for 2009 on the Taurus Cluster to develop a detailed geological model for these kimberlites.

Kimberlite mini bulk samples, recovered from LDD, completed by previous FALC-JV operators, have yielded 597 macrodiamonds (greater than 0.85 millimetre) weighing some 57.6 carats and include two stones greater than 0.50 carat. Five individual mini bulk samples (2.99 to 9.32 tonnes) recovered from Kimberlite 122 have yielded grades greater than 20 cpht. The 2001 valuation of a small (17.31 carat) parcel of K122 goods returned a modeled price between US$133 and US$147 per carat (Kensington Resources News Release Oct 11, 2001). Microdiamonds have been recovered from all kimberlites within Taurus Cluster.

Senior Vice President Exploration and Development, George Read, said, the Taurus Cluster, with more than 6 kilometres of contiguous kimberlite, has the potential to host hundreds of millions of tonnes of kimberlite. The relogging of archival core form the Taurus Cluster has identified substantial intersections of high interest, coarse grained macrocrystic kimberlite breccia that has the potential to host significant diamond populations, particularly in K122, K118 and K150. Similar kimberlite recovered from the Star Kimberlite has yielded grades as high as 36 cpht in underground bulk samples. Based on the kimberlite volume, five 225 metre holes on each of these three kimberlites were included in the 2008 FALC-JV budget. Recent re-logging of archival core will enable the accurate targeting of high interest, coarse grained kimberlites by the LDD program. Our present understanding of the Taurus Cluster suggests large volumes of diamondiferous kimberlite and recent re-logging of archival core confirms substantial intersections of high interest kimberlite, which will be the target of the 2008 LDD.

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