Mining Explorers 2017: Kennady Diamonds Inc.

Kennady Diamonds Inc. is a Toronto-based explorer focused on Kennady North, a rapidly advancing diamond project located about seven kilometers (4.5 miles) northeast of Gahcho Kué – a mine owned by De Beers Canada and Mountain Province Diamonds Inc. Kelvin, the most advanced kimberlite on the property, hosts an indicated resource of 13.62 million carats of diamonds contained in 8.5 million metric tons of kimberlite averaging 1.6 carats per metric ton, according to a maiden resource calculated at the end of 2016. The estimated average value of the diamonds in the Kelvin kimberlite is US$63 per carat. The database used to evaluate Kelvin included 40,041 meters of core drilling from 175 holes, microdiamond samples, an initial 44.8-metric-ton mini-bulk sample, and two larger bulk samples totaling 1,067 metric tons of kimberlite. This database was accumulated from work programs carried out since 2012. This work earned Kennady Diamonds the prestigious Mines and Money Exploration Company of the Year award for 2016. Kennady President and CEO Rory Moore, which took the helm at Kennady North in 2016, paid tribute to his predecessor. “Firstly, the former CEO of Kennady, Patrick Evans had the vision and courage to spin out Kennady from Mountain Province in 2012 and initiate an exploration program on the claims immediately north of the Gahcho Kué mine,” said Moore. “This area had been previously explored, and most diamond explorers were skeptical of his chances for success, but this did not deter Patrick who moved ahead boldly.”

Kennady kicked off its 2017 exploration in January with a bulk sample program that targeted Faraday 1, 2 and 3, earlier staged kimberlites north of Kelvin. During the winter program, the company completed 75 holes, collecting 555 metric tons of sample material from the three kimberlites. A 276.4-metric-ton Faraday 3 sample produced 460.5 carats of commercial size diamonds, for a sample grade of 1.67 carats per metric ton. The 26 carat-plus diamonds in this sample included a 7.78 carat white octahedral diamond with no inclusions, the largest gem quality diamond discovered so far at Kennady North. A 262.6-metric-ton sample collected from Faraday 2 produced 737.6 carats of diamonds for an average grade of 2.81 c/t. The largest stone is a 4.72 carat white/colorless octahedron with minor inclusions. A 26.4-metric-ton sample from Faraday 1 produced 76.8 carats of diamonds for an average grade of 2.91 c/t. The largest diamond is a 3.21 carat white/colorless tetrahexahedron with noticeable inclusions.

A summer program included 2,766 meters of drilling at the Faraday kimberlites. This work expanded the Faraday 2 kimberlite to 600 meters along strike. Two holes were drilled at the Faraday 1 and 3 kimberlites – one was positioned to collect geotechnical and environmental data, and the second tested a potential connection at depth between the kimberlites. Kimberlite intercepts from both holes have established that the two pipes are joined at the northwestern tip of Faraday 1. As a result, Kennady has renamed the merged kimberlite, “Faraday 1-3.” A resource estimate is currently being calculated for the Faraday kimberlites.