DIAMOND EXPLORATION – Renard 2 bulk sample returns 90 cpht

QUEBEC - ASHTON MINING OF CANADA reports encouraging diamond results from 162 tonnes of material collected by reverse circulation drilling from the Renard 2 kimberlitic body. The sample was processed by dense media separation and returned 146 carats of diamonds, for an estimated diamond content of 90 carats per hundred tonnes. This material constitutes part of the 660-tonne bulk sample collected in 2004 by Ashton and its 50:50 joint venture partner, SOQUEM INC., from the Renard 2, 3, 4 and 65 bodies on the Foxtrot property in the Otish Mountains area of north-central Quebec.

The 162 tonnes of material returned 13 diamonds weighing more than one carat, including two that exceed two carats. The three largest diamonds are a 2.27-carat pale gray composite crystal, a 2.05-carat clear pale yellow crystal and a 1.87-carat pale brown partial octahedron.

The 577 tonnes of bulk sample material processed to date has returned 428 carats of diamonds including 25 that exceed one carat and eight that weigh more than two carats. The joint venture expects to process the remaining 85 tonnes of bulk sample material, from Renard 4 and Renard 65, within the next month. At the beginning of the second quarter, the joint venture plans to have the final parcel of an estimated 450 carats undergo valuation in Antwerp, Belgium.

Find out more about the project by visiting www.ashton.ca.