Issue link: http://resourceworld.uberflip.com/i/937377
72 www.resourceworld.com F E B R U A R Y / M A R C H 2 0 1 8 Australian Update by Greg Barns I f you head south of the north- ern Western Australian town of Kununurra you hit Rio Tinto's large Argyle diamond mine, but if you drive 225 km northwest of the town you will find the North Kimberley diamond project. With its RTO of Consolidated Westview Resources now completed, Lithoquest Diamonds Inc. [LDI-TSXV] is embarking on fieldwork in preparation for drilling. The company has about $6 million in cash. The North Kimberley Project is only 65 km from Kalumburu and early signs are that this project looks promising. Lithoquest began trading November 29 last year with Rosseau Asset Management and Eric Sprott as significant shareholders, holding 6.96 million shares (15.2%) and 4.0 million shares (8.7%) of the company, respectively. A NI 43-101 report filed November 15, 2017 says that the "North Kimberley Diamond Province, covering an esti- mated area of some 4,000 km 2 , was the first kimberlite province to be discov- ered in Western Australia" and that in the 1990s, during the second phase of exploration, "significant diamondiferous kimberlite pipes were discovered." While these discoveries were uneconomic, the report noted, the "benefit of this his- toric exploration is that it has provided insights on the preferential regional struc- tures influencing the emplacement of the known pipes, as well as the exploration challenges posed by deep weathering and the development of post emplacement 'infill' sediments. Bulk testing of alluvial deposits, kimberlites pipes and dykes has demonstrated that a variety of diamond populations are present in the Province," the report found. Lithoquest's project covers the underex- plored northwest portion of a prospective kimberlite corridor and is considered an early to intermediate stage exploration project. Very limited reconnaissance inspections and sampling of geomorphic features undertaken in this area in 2007, and again in 2017, have highlighted two targets which could potentially represent kimberlite bodies based on the recovery of high priority kimberlite indicator minerals and textures observed in hand specimens that are typical of weathered kimberlite in the area, the report noted. President and CEO of Lithoquest Diamonds, Bruce Counts, says work done at the project since mid-2016 led to the discovery of "strong evidence of a dia- mond-bearing kimberlite cluster" and that the next stage in development is the dis- covery drilling phase. The North Kimberley project consists of two exploration licenses covering more than 1000,000 hectares. To date, work has shown three occurrences of appar- ent (weathered) kimberlite; rock samples collected showing high interest diamond inclusion chemistry; gem quality macro- diamonds from documented stream samples; and the potential for additional kimberlite discoveries. Native title and infrastructure are major issues in this remote area of northern Western Australia. Lithoquest has Lithoquest Diamonds exploring for Australian diamonds