The Diamond Exploration System

THE “SPIDERWEB”.

MY UNIVERSAL KIMBERLITE EXPLORATION SYSTEM.

Igor Kryvoshlyk

[email protected]

It is much easier to find a needle Inside a tiny box, than – in a huge haystack.

Each successful exploration company has to have a reliable exploration strategy. This should provide information to make following steps forward logical and so avoid exploration within wrong areas. Even the best exploration techniques will provide unsatisfactory result if it applied to barren areas.

How to avoid barren areas? How to find rich diamond pipes? How to predict diamond grade and economic value of the kimberlite found?

Our Earth is a tiny drop of The Universe. The perfect harmony of The Universe is based on laws of Nature, and first of all – on mathematical laws. It believes that everything on the Earth can be described with mathematical formulas. “Each natural science becomes a real Science only if it can be expressed mathematically” - (Albert Einstein?).

My Exploration System includes three main parts: Large Diamond Mine Locator, Diamond Grade Grid, and Garnet-Ilmenite Geochemical Program.

The Large Diamond Mine Locator (LML) was designed to describe the distribution of large diamond mines on the earth’s surface. LML was created to aid in selection of large (hundreds of square km) exploration areas, which might contain economically profitable diamond mine. LML is used to aid to focus the company’s effort to get maximum result with minimum expense.

LML looks like a multiple combination of stereometrical complexes. Each complex consists of about two dozen concentric conical figures. On the earth surface, they look like a group of concentric circles. The main parameters and geographical location of these were calculated with the same set of mathematical formulas. The absolute values of the complex's dimensions create mathematical series (sequences).

It is very important that the major elements of complexes coincide with orientation of distinctive tectonic elements of the earth’s structure: dykes swarms (North Lesotho), subduction zones (Australia), contour of continents (California, west coast of Mexico and east coast of Australia), island arcs (Kuriles, Indonesia), or prominent depressions in platform’s basement.

Intersections of complexes indicate the areas (polygons) of the highest chance to find large diamond mine. The higher number of intersection at each particular polygon (double, triple or quadruple) – the higher probability of the presence of large diamond mine within that intersection.

Statistically about 99% of: African (Premier, Finsch, Venetia, Kimberley, Dutoitspan, De-Beers, Wesselton, Koffiefontein, Jagersfontein, Jwaneng, Orapa, Letlhakane, Mbuji-Mayi, Mwadui, Camafuca, Catoca, Dokolwayo, Letseng) Australian (Argyle, Ellendale) Indian (Majhawan, Pipe 7) Russian (Mir, Internationalnaya, Aikhal, Udachnaya, Jubilee) and Canadian famous kimberlites (Diavik Mine, Ekati Mine, Snap Lake Mine, Jericho kimberlite, Victor kimberlite, Kyle Lake-1) - all of these large diamond mines are located within such polygons. In other words, there are no large diamond mines outside these areas. Therefore, there is no reason to waste time and budget for exploration between polygons.

It believes that the LML has a universal image and it can be used within each continent.

Diamond Grade Grid (DGG) also can be used as a Small Diamond Mine Locator. It has to aid in evaluation within state, province or territory of the local small size areas (tens of square km) displaying the distribution of the kimberlites with high (greater than 30 cpht), moderate (10 – 30 cpht) and poor (less than 10 cpht) diamond grade.

DGG can aid in targets selection for exploration drilling of the anomalies, also – in preliminary evaluation of the kimberlite diamond grade. In combination with LML DGG can give a preliminary idea about kimberlite mining potential knowing just geographical coordinates. For example, kimberlite located out of LML’s zones but inside pink DGG’s boxes will indicate significant diamond grade, however - of the small size kimberlite pipe or dyke (like Kyle-3, N. Ontario).

DGG looks like a composite planimetric figure, which have clear geographical accordance with major local tectonic structures. DGG orientation is different for different regions (provinces). For example, within James Bay Lowlands (Northern Ontario) DGG has an azimuth N.W. 326. This is very close to orientation of the Lake Timiskaming Rift Zone (“Diamond Corridor”) – N.W. 325 (JML Resources) or – N.W. 330 (Northern Shield Resources) or – N.W. 327 (Moorhead et al, 2003?)

Within central part of the Slave Province DGG has an azimuth N.E. 27. Approximately the same angle we can get if to measure the direction of the longest axis of the Slave Craton, if to approximate its shape to ellipse. For Alberta (Buffalo Head Hills) DGG azimuth is N.E. 85. For close located Saskatchewan kimberlites, DGG azimuth is N.E. 75.

For the Arkhangelsk Kimberlite Province (White Sea area, Russia) DGG azimuth is N.E. 58. Again, this is quite close to the direction of the border between Baltic Shield and East-European Platform at this particular area.

DGG within Africa continent has azimuth E.S.E. 97 for Cape Province, which is close to direction of “the seismically slow regions of the northern Kaapvaal Craton” (Shirey S.B., et al, 2003). DGG azimuth N.E. 50 for Gibeon Province roughly coincides with direction of the close located Damara Mobile Belt (by Boroukaev C.B., Elizariev U.Z., et al, 1976). Approximately the same azimuths we can find in publication by R.H.Mitchell (1986, Fig. 30): E.S.E 94.5 for Cape Province, and N.E. 43-45 for Namibia.

The Diamond Grade Grid’ structure was built based on Garnet-Ilmenite Geochemical Program’ calculations for pyropes and ilmenites.

Garnet - Ilmenite Geochemical Program (GGP). “A diamond junior’s first task is to find a diamondiferous kimberlite. The next and very important step is to provide a convincing arguments as to why this kimberlite deserves a more expensive mini bulk sample to establish carat grade” - (John Kaiser, [email protected] 3/19/2002).

GGP is a quick and statistically confirmed way to convert chemical composition of garnets into reliable value of the diamond grade for each separated kimberlite (Table 1), bearing in mind the existence of three Diamond Inclusion Fields: one peridotitic and two eclogitic (ECL-1 and ECL-2, perhaps, one of them – for igneous eclogites and another one – for metamorphic eclogites (Kryvoshlyk, 2003). The idea about existence of two diamond eclogitic fields coincides with the presence of two ilmenitic fields (the same eclogitic paragenesis); each of them has direct relation to diamondiferous kimberlites.

GGP is based on the file with ca. 55,000 of individual garnet analyses and ca. 25,000 of ilmenites. GGP was created with about a dozen of standard geochemical formulas and several newly found mathematical equations.

This System can aid in selection of the Company’s claims, and also - in re- evaluation of the present claims.

It can be useful in selection of the best exploration activity, and preliminary evaluation of diamond mine before expensive traditional feasibility study, which includes intensive drilling, sampling, processing, etc.

It is easy to see that even the best in the world exploration techniques might bring no success within wrong areas.

LML and DGG require just high quality maps (in proper projection) and reliable information about kimberlite location. The GGP needs microprobe analyses for just a few hundred of garnet and ilmenite grains.

“To find a kimberlite pipe is like finding “a needle in a haystack”. The collective expenditure on exploration [using traditional technique – I.K.] to locate one kimberlitic diamond mine is estimated to be in the vicinity of $500 million.” - (Features Archive, May 26, 2000).

It is quite possible, that “The Spiderweb” can decrease that number significantly. Table 1. ______Kimberlite Diamond Grade (cpht) (Source) Estimated (before mining) Recovered Calculated (after mining) (present research)

Marsfontein 335 308 242 148.58 130.95 M-1 Pipe, Rangold Small Mines Collingridge Southernera based on S.Africa Exploration Field Excurs. Wordsmith Annual Report 201 PYR (Westerlund, Press 7th IKC, 1998 1999 2000 7 ECL-1 & 2000) Release 58 ECL-2 1998 ______Klipspringer: Lens # 3 (?) 47 42 44.20 (Westerlund, Badger Mining & Cons. Annual Meeting based on 2000) Aug. 2000 May 2003 15 ECL-2 (Southernera, 2002) (Southernera, 2003)

Udachnaya 120 100 60 60.44 Siberia, Miller, P. First Strike Eberle, J.M. based on Russia “Diamonds” Diamonds Inc. “Diamant: 31 PYR Yorkton Sec., Website panorama Feb. 1995 minier mondial. Part 2.” Feb. 2003 ______Lomonosov 100 100 74 76.49 White Sea, “Diamonds” Poplar The Russia based on Russia P.Miller Resources, Journal Daily, 26 PYR (Verzhak V.V. Yorkton Sec. News Release, 2003 Pers. Comm., Feb. 1995 October 24, 2002 Oct. 2003) ______

REFERENCES.

John Kaiser. [email protected] 3/19/2002.

Kryvoshlyk I. 2003. Garnet & Ilmenite Geochemical Computer Program For Exploration For Diamonds. 8th IKC, Victoria, B.C.