Iciena provides diamond indicators results

Iciena Ventures Inc. announces that Diamond Indicator Results Complete for Heavy Mineral Samples

Sample results are now available for the Batovi Diamond Project, a part of which the Company has just secured an option to acquire an 80% interest in claims covering approximately 215,000 hectares.

262 heavy mineral samples were collected from streams draining the license area. Processing of 240 of these samples is now complete and 103 contained indicator minerals with compositions equivalent to those found in economic kimberlite pipes. Four of the samples were exceptionally anomalous; they contained between 40 and 64 Diamond Indicators. Results for the remaining 22 samples are awaited.

A total of 758 Diamond Indicators were recovered. Recovered Diamond Indicators included eclogitic garnets, peridotitic (G10) garnets, chrome diopsides and chromites. The source of the diamond indicators appears to be dominantly eclogitic in nature with 528 Group I eclogitic garnets recovered. This eclogitic character is similar to that seen at DeBeers’ Victor Mine in northern Ontario which will be in production in the near future.

Significantly, 160 chrome diopsides with Diamond Indicator compositions were recovered. The presence of chrome diopside is indicative of a proximal source. Chrome diopsides typically persist for distances of less than several kilometres in tropical conditions such as those in the Batovi region. This suggests that sources for the Diamond Indicators should be found within the Batovi Diamond Project.

Furthermore, proprietary classification of the chrome diopsides completed by the CF Mineral Research laboratory revealed that 116 of the chrome diopsides had compositions similar to those of chrome diopsides found within large (50+ carat) diamonds from the Ekati Diamond Mine located in northern Canada.

During field operations 10 kimberlites were sampled. Although these kimberlites were previously known there are no prior records of them being sampled. Samples weighing approximately 50 to 250 kilograms of each kimberlite were collected and sent to CF Mineral Research for recovery of microdiamonds and Diamond Indicators.

Due to the prospective nature of the license area the Company has undertaken an airborne geophysical survey over the core of the license area. Geotech Airborne Ltd. was contracted to complete the survey with a helicopter borne state of the art TEM and two magnetometer system. The survey consists of over 7700 line kilometers with a line spacing of 100 meters. This survey will be far more advanced than any historic surveys completed over the same area in the past.

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