QUEBEC – Montreal-based Stornoway Diamond Corp. has recovered a 9.78-ct and a 6.41-ct diamond from the Renard 65 bulk sample. The 9.78-ct stone, worth US$7,000/ct, is an unbroken white octahedral gem, the most valuable ever recovered at the project.
The next largest diamond in the sample is 6.41 carats in size and is also a white octahedral gem of high quality, with a preliminary valuation of US$4,700/ct. Approximately one-third of the Renard 65 bulk sample’s heavy mineral concentrate has now been processed and a total of 11 diamonds larger than 1.8 ct in size have been extracted.
Stornoway notes that a feature of the Renard project has been the incidence of large, high value stones recovered at each stage of sampling since the project was discovered in the James Bay region in 2001. During the Renard bulk sampling program of 2007, a 15.46-ct, top light brown “makeable” gem was recovered from Renard 2, a 10.15-ct white octahedral gem was recovered from Renard 3, and a broken 21.53-ct brown octahedral gem was recovered from the Lynx Dyke in three pieces of 11.73, 5.96 and 3.94 ct. In all, seven stones have now been recovered from Renard with values in excess of US$4,000/ct.
Additional information about the Renard project, Quebec's first diamond mine, is available at StornowayDiamonds.com.
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