Adelaide, May 22, 2006 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Paramount Mining Corporation Limited (ASX: PCP) has announced final diamond recovery results from Phase 1 alluvial test pits at the Osenase Project, Ghana.
A total of 83 diamonds have been recovered from 8.6 cubic metres of gravel extracted from five pits, completed during Paramount's initial testing of alluvial deposits within the project area. The table below provides details.
All diamonds are of commercial size, being over 1 millimetre in diameter, and generally fall in the 1 - 2 millimetre range.
The initial test work concentrated on two historically productive locations within the concession, approximately 14 kilometres apart. The pits all measured 2 x 2 metres in surface area.
The largest diamond came from Pit BIM 1/ 6, weighing 0.56 carats. The usual size for diamonds from the Birim Diamond Field ranges up to 2 carats.
One additional diamond was recovered from 0.4 metres cubed of sample material retrieved from a sixth pit, BIM 1/ 5, which could not be completed due to wall collapse.
------------------------------------------------------------------------OS Pit Overburden Sample * Depth of Sample Number of DiamondNumber Thickness Thickness Pit Volume Diamonds Weightm m m m3 carats------------------------------------------------------------------------AKS 1/ 1 1.50 0.40 1.90 1.2 8 0.26AKS 1/ 2 0.75 0.50 1.25 2.0 17 0.88 10 nw AKS 1/ 3 0.90 0.55 1.65 2.2 28 1.38 7 nw BIM 1/ 4 0.56 0.30 0.84 1.2 4 nwBIM 1/ 6 0.55 0.37 1.12 2.0 8 0.82 1 nw ------------------------------------------------------------------------TOTAL 8.6 83 >3.34------------------------------------------------------------------------* Sampled material consisted of alluvial gravels plus 0.1 metres of weathered bedrock nw Not Weighed
Accurate diamond weights are not available for the 23 smallest diamonds.
"Our initial alluvial recoveries demonstrate that these locations have high potential for alluvial deposits of economic value," Paramount's Chief Executive Officer, Ms Maureren Muggeridge, said today. "Furthermore, the large Osenase concession is also host to an extensive belt of ultramafic rocks, shown in places by our recent work and previous investigations to be diamondiferous. We believe we are just at the beginning of an exciting phase of revived interest in the diamond deposits of Ghana".
The Company expects to soon announce plans for the next phase of work at Osenase.
BACKGROUND
Paramount announced in February this year that it has entered into a Joint Venture with Leo Shield Ghana Limited ("Leo"), a Ghanaian subsidiary of ASX-listed Caspian Oil and Gas Limited, over a concession situated less than 25 kilometres south of Paramount's existing Akwatia Diamond Project. These projects lie within the Birim Diamond Field in southern Ghana, one of the largest economic alluvial diamond bearing provinces in the world that has produced over 100 million carats. Exploration at Osenase commenced in March 2006. The project area contains both alluvial and hard rock diamond occurrences, as well as gold and columbite-tantalite minerals in alluvial material.
A key focus for Paramount at Osenase is the hard rock deposits, given the prolific yield (over 100,000 million carats of diamonds) from the widespread alluvials of the Birim system, the large part of which could have been locally dervied. The hard rock occurrences appear to relate to a broad zone of ultramafic rocks that occur within the central part of the project area. The impression from field inspection is that, from the visual appearance and mode of emplacement of these rocks, there is a strong resemblence to kimberlite, the principal hard rock host of diamonds which occurs in various locations around the world.
The Osenase concession is a Reconnaissance Licence, RL5/12, covering 330 Sq km within the Birim South and West Akim districts.
Prepared by:
Maureen Muggeridge
Chairman / Chief Executive Officer
The information in this report that relates to Exploration Results, Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves is based on information compiled by Maureen Muggeridge, BSc, FAIG, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Paramount Mining Corporation Ltd. Ms Muggeridge is a full-time employee of the company. She has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposits under consideration, and to the activity undertaken, to qualify as a competent person as defined in the 2004 Edition of the "Australasian Code for Reporting of Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves". Maureen Muggeridge consents to the inclusion in the report of the matters based on her information in the form and context in which it appears.
Source:
Kevin Skinner
Senior Consultant
FIELD PUBLIC RELATIONS
231 South Road
MILE END SA 5031
Tel: (08) 8234 9555
Fax: (08) 8234 9566
Mob: 0414 822 631
kevin@fieldpr.com.au
Contact
TEL: +61 8 93824822
FAX: +61 8 93824899
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