Fundraising for Kahuna
Dunnedin seeks $750k for diamond project near Rankin Inlet
Karen K. Ho
Northern News Services
Monday, September 7, 2015
NUNAVUT
It's been a little more than a year since Vancouver-based diamond exploration company Dunnedin Ventures took over the option agreement of the Kahuna diamond project near Rankin Inlet.
An aerial view of Jericho diamond mine, which past owner Tahera Diamond Corporation closed in 2008, and filed for bankruptcy protection that same year. Shear Diamonds agreed to purchase the mine in 2010 for $38 million. By 2012, Shear was no longer operating. Jericho remains unclaimed, but Dunnedin Ventures has picked up some of the property Shear left behind. The company is now trying to raise $750,000. - photo courtesy of Tahera Diamond Corporation |
The company is now trying to raise $750,000 through a sale of two kinds of non-brokered shares – common (regular) and flow-through, where the tax-benefits are passed onto investors.
The announcement, made on Aug. 31, stated Dunnedin planned on using the funds to advance its work at Kahuna and support its other operations.
The company, which has been active in developing gold and copper deposits in northern B.C. and Mexico, recently concluded the first phase of investigations at Kahuna.
Special advisor Allan Barry Laboucan said the company is now waiting for the results of the surface sample for diamond-indicator minerals and diamond recovery information.
"I think we were out in the field for about four weeks," he said. "I would say (there were) six or seven people."
Laboucan said results from the labs are expected in approximately eight weeks and the total summer field program cost $250,000.
According to a news release, Dunnedin's geological teams collected more than four tonnes of the kind of rock that sometimes contains diamonds, kimberlite, from marked sites in PST, Notch and Kahuna as well as other targets.
In addition to the kimberlite samples, Dunnedin stated it also collected approximately two tonnes of mineral concentrates from 180 till samples after testing a number of new targets across 20 kilometres of identified ground areas.
Dunnedin also stated that field investigations were more cost efficient than initial expectations due to the recent opening of Agnico Eagle Ltd.'s Meliadine mine 25 km north of Rankin Inlet, which expanded infrastructure and increased local support services.
The company said it conducted in-person community consultations with the Kivalliq Inuit Association about the Kahuna project.
"Dunnedin will continue to work closely with the KIA to ensure its operations are respectful of local land-use priorities and to ensure maximum participation from local parties in its activities," stated the news release.
Laboucan said the meetings went very well and that the company received a lot of input.
"The biggest thing that we learned was to keep everyone informed of what we were doing," he said. "Keep working with the right groups for the various issues, such as water."
At press time, members of the KIA were unavailable for comment.
Prior to Dunnedin's involvement, Shear Minerals did extensive work in the site area between 2006 and 2010, including drilling, bulk sampling, prospecting and geophysical surveys.
In spring 2007, a 356-tonne bulk sample taken from three pits along the Kahuna kimberlite showed 11,088 diamonds greater than 0.85 mm. The sample yielded 337 carats, giving an overall sample grade of 0.95 carats per tonne.
Other significant results are 2.18 carats per tonne from one 3.55 tonne bulk sample from the PST kimberlite, and an average 0.84 carats per tonne from two bulk samples totalling 22.19 tonnes on the Notch kimberlite.
Dunnedin said the largest diamond recovered from Kahuna so far has been a 5.43 carat stone that had been broken during the sample preparation process and was reconstructed as having an original size of 13.42 carats.
