Elkedra Diamonds has announced the recovery of a diamond fragment from the Imboridju palaeo-channel located on the northeast margin of the Central Craton.
The Imboridju palaeo-channel represents the largest palaeo-drainage tested in the recent RAB drill program. Nine RAB holes were drilled across the interpreted channel along 200m centres. Where intersected, the channel is 1200m wide, with gravel thickness ranging from 3 to 5m. The overburden varies from 3 to 8m thick and is composed predominantly of unconsolidated sand.
Processing of 175kg of the minus 4.8mm gravel material led to the recovery of a diamond fragment from the minus 0.2mm micro-diamond fraction. The diamond is believed to represent a cleaved portion of a larger macro-diamond and is the first indication that macro-diamonds may be present on the Altjawarra Craton.
Given the size of the channel, and the limited amount of gravel material collected, the recovery of a diamond fragment is significant. The result confirms the diamond prospectivity of the Altjawarra Craton in the Northern Territory and highlights the northern uplifted margin of the Central Craton as a priority area for further follow up.
Further processing of the coarser plus 1.0mm fraction is underway to recover any additional diamonds and indicators.
In addition, processing of an additional 11 samples from 10 other palaeo-channels on the Altjawarra Craton is also in progress.