Shallow diamond find

KIMBERLEY Diamond Co NL has discovered encouraging – and sur-prising – concentrations of gems at shallow depth in the Ellendale pipes it is acquiring from the Rio Tinto subsidiary Argyle Diamonds.

Recent testing of six pits in Pipes 4 and 9 by Kimberley to a max-imum depth of only 2.6 metres has so far resulted in the recovery of

653 diamonds weighing 106.21 carats from a total tonnage of 415 tonnes

About 80 percent of the diamonds recovered are of gem quality.

The largest diamond recovered weighed 4.11 carats with 11 other stones weighing in ex-cess of 1 carat.

The indicated grades of samples from two pits in Pipe 4 were more than 50 carats per hundred tonnes (very high, if continued in a comm-ercial operation).

Further testing is expected to increase this grade.

All the recent calc-ulations of the pipes’ value has been based on diamonds found at greater depths.

Ellendale launched a classic Australian share market boom in the 1970s, with scores of companies rushing to peg ground in the Kimberley region.