THE DIAMOND PAGE — Kimberlites elusive at Yamba Lake

Drill testing of four potential kimberlite targets on the Yamba Lake property in the Northwest Territories has been suspended until the new year.

Cypango Ventures (CAV-V) has the right to earn up to a 70% interest in the 61-claim package from partners Mill City Gold Mining (MIY-V) and Tanqueray Resources (TQY-A). Cypango can earn an initial 51% interest by spending $5 million on exploration there before Oct. 31, 1999.

The Yamba Lake claim block is 45 km northeast of the NWT Diamonds project of BHP Minerals and Dia Met Minerals.

Although the current program encountered no kimberlite in the four targets, past work there has identified five pipes. The fourth hole of the current program was lost at a vertical depth of 108 metres after intersecting 18 metres of clay. The 150-metre-long hole was drilled from the edge of a lake at an angle of 45.

Cypango interprets the clay to represent a contact zone. That target, which was defined by a kimberlite indicator mineral dispersion train, is situated near three diamondiferous pipes and at the intersection of two structural faults. It also lies within a 20-acre magnetic anomaly.

This target will be tested with a vertical hole from an ice platform when drilling resumes in January. Four other high-priority targets will be tested then as well.