Diamond Prospecting and exploration

Building a modern and safe diamond mine to an internationally accepted standard and developing the necessary infrastructure, involves heavy construction and employment of professional and qualified workforce. As a result such activity requires massive investments. The risks associated with diamond exploration are also extremely high, as even after encountering kimberlitic bedrock and proving it is diamondiferous it takes multimillion investment just to conduct a feasibility study to assess and evaluate the reserves. The results of such feasibility analysis may as well be unsatisfactory and not result in commercial benefit. Therefore it is absolutely crucial to do anything possible to minimize the risks and associated costs. One of the most important factors in doing so is conducting a correctly planned and justified exploration program prior to even the feasibility stage of involvement.

At the early exploration stage the claims are being staked, based on the interpretation carried out by professional geoscientists. This interpretation is primarily based on assessment of satellite imagery in the regions (mainly ancient Cratons) with viable tectonic setting and delineating the structures which may be in control of past kimberlitic volcanism. Based on such interpretation the potentially prospective regions may be outlined and suggested for staking.

The most important part of the early stage exploration program is the till sampling, which is a direct invasive method to study mineralogical properties of the selected area of interest. The primary objective of till sampling is to identify and locate kimberlite indicator minerals, which are formed in the same environment as diamonds (pressure and temperature), but are much more numerous due to their simpler crystalline structure. Such indicator minerals are, for example, pyrope garnet (G-10), Chome-diopside, picroilminite and chrome-spinel.

A detailed paleoglaciation study is an important factor in till sampling, as the presence of kimberlite indicator minerals can be deceiving and some of them may have been carried from hundreds of kilometers away before being deposited in glacial till. Therefore an additional glaciology and quaternary geology study is essential prior to constructing any prognosis map with selected drilling targets.

When the targets are selected for drilling the exploration transits onto the second, more expensive stage and it is obvious that the early stage of exploration has complete control over the further success of exploration program. Ironically, the most important stage is also the least expensive and nevertheless, its importance is hardly appreciated sufficiently, which results in massive spendetures, which could have been avoided fairly easily at the early stage.

Diamond exploration and drilling requires technical knowhow of the subject. Early diamond discovery stages require geoscientists opinion based on satelite imagery.