Yellowknife (Apr 27/05) - Snowfield Developments plans to spend close to $1.5 million on its 2005 diamond exploration project, located 70 kilometres southwest of Yellowknife, near Drybones Bay.

On its GTen-16 claim block, the company plans a five-drill hole program, along with Consolidated Goldwyn Ventures (CGV).

CGV has an option to earn up to 49 per cent on the Gten-16 block by spending $100,000.

Snowfield is waiting for a response from the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board to see if it can extract a mini-bulk sample from its Mud Lake claim.

A hearing is scheduled on the subject, May 4.

Snowfield president Robert Paterson said his company has been through the environmental hoops over the last year and a half.

Paterson says concerns around the mini-bulk sample, that there might be a large pit left in the ground, have been resolved. The company has determined it will trench the sample.

"We have to go down 40 feet deep to the kimberlite. It will be ramped down with equipment, caterpillars and excavators. It will be 40 metres wide and 100 metres long," said Paterson.

The bulk sample would be able to fit into a 15X15-foot room with a 10-foot ceiling, said Paterson.

He says Snowfield discovered an underground body of kimberlite in the area in 2003.

Once the snow and surface freezing is gone, Snowfield will be taking extensive till samples on other areas of its claims.

An airborne helicopter geophysical survey will also be undertaken.

The company has built a camp where between six and 20 people will live throughout the next year.

Much of the company's hiring is done locally, said Paterson, adding that Yellowknifer Mike Beauregard is the project manager.

One of the main attractions of the project is its close proximity to Yellowknife, said Paterson. The cost of getting the mini-bulk sample out by barge will be close to $400,000, said Paterson.

Other bulk samples being extracted cost several times in excess of what Snowfield is paying, simply due to transportation costs, he added.