Stock Symbol: SGF: TSX
SASKATOON, Feb. 19,
2015 /CNW/ - George H. Read, P. Geo., Senior Vice
President Exploration and Development of Shore Gold Inc. ("Shore"
or the "Company") is pleased to announce that Shore will commence a
large diameter drilling ("LDD") program consisting of up to twelve
24 inch holes on the Orion South Kimberlite. This LDD program aims
to estimate macro-diamond (+0.85 millimetre) grade information from
strategically located drillholes and this diamond grade information
will be used to augment the Mineral Resource estimate for the Orion
South Kimberlite. The planned LDD program targets up to 12 holes,
with a total of some 2,600 metres of drilling, including some 1,440
metres in overburden and 1,160 metres of kimberlite down to a
maximum depth of about 250 metres below surface. Eleven of the
proposed holes are to be in close proximity (less than 10 metres)
to existing diamond drill core holes, from which the kimberlite has
been logged in detail. The other proposed hole is to be preceded by
a core hole to ensure a good understanding of the kimberlite
stratigraphy. The program is also designed to incorporate 11
previously drilled LDD holes (ten 48 inch holes and one 24 inch
hole) that were not fully utilized in the previous Orion South
Mineral Resource estimate.
Shore has signed a contract with Foraco Canada
Limited ("Foraco") for the drilling required for the program.
Foraco personnel have extensive experience of LDD programs on
kimberlites and their drilling equipment has recently been used on
kimberlites in the Northwest
Territories and in the past was used to successfully
evaluate the Grib Kimberlite in Russia. The program will use the reverse flood
method of drilling, which is a standard procedure for the
collection of mini-bulk samples of kimberlite for macro-diamond
grade estimation. The drill rig for this LDD program is sourced
from a division of Foraco in Europe and the rig is currently being shipped
to Canada by sea and scheduled to
arrive in Halifax in early
March.
The LDD program is planned to commence in late
April to avoid severe winter weather conditions that increase
drilling costs. The kimberlite chips collected at the drill will be
stored in bulk bags and regularly shipped to an offsite commercial
laboratory for the recovery of macro-diamonds greater than 0.85
millimetres. The drill program is expected to take some three
months to complete.
Senior Vice President Exploration and
Development, George Read, states:
"This LDD program is the first step in a process to substantially
improve the Mineral Resource estimate on the Orion South
Kimberlite. The original evaluation of the Orion South Kimberlite,
using underground bulk sampling and LDD mini-bulk sampling, was
curtailed by the world financial crisis of late 2008. In the mine
plan contemplated by the Feasibility Study of July 2011, Star is mined first, followed by
Orion South. However, Orion South has some 30 metres less overburden
than Star and it is anticipated that this has the potential to
reduce the project per-stripping time significantly if mined first.
Orion South also has higher grade
Early Joli Fou kimberlite in direct contact with the overburden,
and this could result in stronger early cash flow than in the case
of Star. The Company intends to re-estimate the Orion South Mineral
Resource, including the new LDD holes and then re-optimise the open
pit on Orion South using the updated
Mineral Resource estimate and diamond prices. Thereafter we aim to
optimise the existing Feasibility Study with a revised mine plan,
where Orion South is mined first.
Preliminary calculations suggest that such an optimised Feasibility
Study, with a new mine plan, can positively change the economic
model for the Project by increasing the Mineral Resource Estimate
and decreasing the pre-production capital costs and the time to
achieve diamond production."
The Star-Orion South Diamond Project is located
in central Saskatchewan some 60
kilometres east of the city of Prince Albert. The Project is
in close proximity to established infrastructure, including paved
highways and the electrical power grid, which provide significant
advantages for future mine development. The NI 43-101 compliant
Technical Report on the Feasibility Study and Updated Mineral
Reserve for the Star-Orion South Diamond Project dated July 14, 2011 provided an updated Mineral Reserve
Estimate for the Star and Orion South kimberlite deposits:
Probable Mineral Reserves of 279 million tonnes containing
34.4 million carats of diamonds at a weighted average price of
US$242 per carat, that can be
profitably mined over 20 years. In addition to the Mineral Reserve
Estimate, the Star and Orion South Kimberlites have been estimated
to include Inferred Resources containing 15.7 million carats.
The Project includes a four-year construction
period followed by the excavation of two open-pit mines and
processing of approximately 45,000 tonnes of kimberlite rock
per day over a projected 20-year period. Shore's plans for
decommissioning include progressive reclamation activities
beginning within five years from the start of construction and will
continue beyond the operations phase of the Project.
In March 2014 an
estimate was made of the Target for Further Exploration ("TFFE",
formerly known as "Potential Mineral Deposit") for five partially
evaluated kimberlites and the portions of the Star and Orion South
Kimberlites, which fall outside the Indicated and Inferred
Resources previously estimated (see SGF News Release July 14, 2011). The TFFE for these seven Fort à
la Corne Kimberlites is estimated to include between 983 million
and 1.17 billion tonnes of kimberlite containing between 52 and 90
million carats of diamonds. The TFFE is conceptual in nature and is
not a Mineral Resource and it is uncertain whether further
exploration work will result in the TFFE being delineated as a
Mineral Resource.
Shore is a Canadian based corporation engaged in
the acquisition, exploration and development of mineral properties.
Shares of the Company trade on the TSX Exchange under the trading
symbol "SGF".
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking
Statements
This news release contains forward-looking
statements as defined by certain securities laws, including the
"safe harbour" provisions of Canadian securities legislation and
the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking information is often, but not always, identified by
the use of words such as "anticipate", "believe", "expect", "plan",
"intend", "forecast", "target", "project", "guidance", "may",
"will", "should", "could", "estimate", "predict" or similar words
suggesting future outcomes or language suggesting an outlook. In
particular, statements regarding Shore's future operations, future
exploration and development activities or other development plans
constitute forward-looking statements. By their nature, statements
referring to mineral reserves, mineral resources or TFFE constitute
forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements in this press release
include, but are not limited to statements with respect to the
proposed LDD program (including the number of holes to be drilled,
the metres to be drilled, the timing of the drilling and the
duration of the program) and Shore's objectives for the ensuing
year including the the anticipated improvement in the Mineral
Resource Estimate, the re-optimization of the open pit, the
re-estimation of the Mineral Resources, the optimization of the
feasibility study and the anticipated positive change in the
economic model for the Project; TFFE; the range of quantity, range
of grade and range of carats for the TFFE; mineral resource
estimate for the Star and Orion South kimberlite deposits; inferred
resources for the Star and Orion South kimberlite deposits; range
of tons of kimberlites not included in the TFFE; the aim of Shore
to undertake additional studies and the potential upgrading of the
Feasibility Study and inferred to indicated resources.
These forward-looking statements are based on
Shore's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and
information currently available to it and involve inherent risks
and uncertainties, both general and specific.
Risks exist that forward-looking statements will
not be achieved due to a number of factors including, but not
limited to, developments in world diamond markets, changes in
diamond prices, risks relating to fluctuations in the Canadian
dollar and other currencies relative to the US dollar, changes in
exploration, development or mining plans due to exploration results
and changing budget priorities of Shore or its joint venture
partners, the effects of competition in the markets in which Shore
operates, the impact of changes in the laws and regulations
regulating mining exploration, development, closure, judicial or
regulatory judgments and legal proceedings, operational and
infrastructure risks and the additional risks described in Shore's
most recently filed Annual Information Form, annual and interim
MD&A. Shore's anticipation of and success in managing the
foregoing risks could cause actual results to differ materially
from what is anticipated in such forward-looking statements.
Although management considers the assumptions
contained in forward-looking statements to be reasonable based on
information currently available to it, those assumptions may prove
to be incorrect. When making decisions with respect to Shore,
investors and others should not place undue reliance on these
statements and should carefully consider the foregoing factors and
other uncertainties and potential events. Unless required by
applicable securities law, Shore does not undertake to update any
forward-looking statement that is made herein.
SOURCE Shore Gold Inc.