A plan that so far has been a year in the making would have Arctic Star Exploration TSXV:ADD shift its diamond exploration focus from northern Canada to northern Finland. The Timantti (Finnish for “diamond”) project would begin with exploration rights over 243 hectares of kimberlites, with an additional 95,700 hectares of land to come under an exploration reservation permit for which the company has applied.
Small bulk samples dating to 2005 have revealed diamonds, while a more recent due diligence program confirmed 58 small stones in an 18.9-kilogram sample from the project’s White Wolf kimberlite.
The Wolf kimberlites lie on the Fennoscandian Shield, which also hosts the major diamond mines Lomonosov and Grib in Russia’s Arkhangelsk region.
Because kimberlites tend to occur in clusters, the Wolf kimberlites could indicate a more extensive group, according to Roy Spencer, who discovered the Wolf kimberlites. Data in the public domain shows a “cloud” of kimberlite indicator minerals across an approximately 80-kilometre-wide area roughly centred on the Wolf kimberlites, the company added. “The exploration reservation will allow Arctic Star to explore the entire region,” Spencer said.
A diamond exploration veteran with De Beers and other companies, Spencer “was largely responsible for the discovery of the world-class Grib kimberlite,” Arctic Star added. Spencer joins the company as a director.
On closing the acquisition, Arctic Star plans magnetic, gravity and EM surveys prior to drilling and a subsequent bulk sample on the road-accessible property, as well as regional airborne surveys.
Ranking fifth globally in the annual Fraser Institute survey of overall mining investment attractiveness, Finland boasts arctic infrastructure in relative profusion to northern Canada.
The deal would involve Arctic Star taking over Foriet Oy, a Finnish company that would become a wholly owned subsidiary, for 14.5 million shares at a deemed price of $0.20.
Arctic Star also welcomed Scott Eldridge’s appointment to the board. A co-founder and president/CEO of Euroscandic International Group, which provides accounting and investment banking services to resource companies, he has raised over $500 million in equity and debt for mining-related projects around the world.
Last May Arctic Star announced a brief geophysical program at the Diagras diamond project in the Northwest Territories, with work expected to finish mid-month. The company has a 40% stake in the JV, with Margaret Lake Diamonds TSXV:DIA holding the rest and acting as project operator.
Source: http://resourceclips.com/2017/07/12/arctic-star-sees-new-diamond-frontier-in-finland/
