Chesterfield Inlet (Jan 22/07) - A focused comb of two million acres could finally pay off for Shear Minerals and its joint-venture partners.

Including results announced this month, Shear has reported finding some 4,880 stones from four kimberlites.

Pam Strand, president of Shear Minerals, says results from a sample taken from the company's Churchill property in Kivalliq show positive signs for the future. - photo courtesy of Shear Minerals

Mircrodiamond results from the Churchill property are showing some very positive signs, said Shear president Pam Strand.

"There was quite a nice population of larger diamonds (in the sample)," she said.

The results were from the Kahuna, Jigsaw, Notch and PSTOO3 kimberlites, which are part of the joint-ventured two million acre property between Rankin Inlet and Chesterfield Inlet.

A 19.5 tonne mini-bulk sample is still being analyzed and counts of larger stones in that will indicate what direction the company will take during the coming exploration year, she said.

"We believe there is a significant chance to recover larger commercially sized diamonds," she said.

Results from the mini-bulk sample should be available in February.

The information will advance how much delineation drill work will occur and how much exploration work will be done at the Churchill property, she said.

Shear Minerals is operator of the project with a 51 per cent interest. Stornoway Diamond Corp. has a 35 per cent stake and BHP Billiton holds 14 per cent.

Exploration and drilling work is expected to begin in mid- to late-March, said Strand.

Last year's project, which began in April, had a budget of $5.5 million and this year's is "comparable" to that, she said.

While 15 workers were employed last year, if mini-bulk sample results continue to be positive, more workers should be employed.

Strand was in Rankin Inlet two weeks ago to speak with the Kivalliq Inuit Association about exploration potential, she said.

With land-based access and local infrastructure close to the property, things are moving forward, she said.

Exploration by Shear Minerals is already providing some job opportunities for businesses in Chesterfield Inlet, said Ben Putulik, owner of Kingaguvaaq Ltd.

"It's good for the community and our company," he said.

In past years, the cargo and rental company has shipped groceries to the exploration camp, he said.

"It you treat them right, then they can treat us right," he said.