STAR - ORION SOUTH DIAMOND PROJECT SIGNIFICANT PROPORTIONS OF TYPE IIa DIAMONDS PRESENT AT STAR AND ORION SOUTH George H. Read, P. Geo., Senior Vice P resident Exploration and Development of Star Diamond Corporation (“Star
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NEWS RELEASE March 04, 2019
TSX: DIAM Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
STAR - ORION SOUTH DIAMOND PROJECT
SIGNIFICANT PROPORTIONS OF TYPE IIa DIAMONDS PRESENT AT STAR AND ORION SOUTH
George H. Read, P. Geo., Senior Vice P resident Exploration and Development of Star Diamond Corporation (“Star
Diamond” or the “Corporation”) is pleased to announce that the Corporation has completed a major study into
the abundance of Type IIa diamonds in the diamond parcels recovered from t he Star and Orion South Kimberlites
located within the Corporation’s Star - Orion South Diamond Project , in the Fort à la Corne diamond district of
central Saskatchewan, Canada, on mineral dispositions held 100 percent by Star Diamond . This study confirms
that unusually high proportions of Type I Ia diamonds are present in both the Star (26.5 percent ) and the Orion
South (12.5 percent) kimberlites. This study confirms and augments an earlier study of Type IIa diamonds in the
Star Kimberlite (see News Release dated June 09, 2010).
Type IIa diamonds are very rare and account for approximately less than 2 percent of all natural rough diamonds
mined from kimberlites. Only a small number of active diamond mines regularly produce Type IIa diamonds with
the most impo rtant of these mines being Letseng-la-Terae (Letseng Mine) in the Kingdom of Lesotho. While
Letseng is a low grade (1.5 -3 cpht) kimberlite , it is probably the most prolific source of large high -value Type IIa
diamonds, which contribute to making Letseng a highly economic deposit. The 2010 study on plus 2.7 carat
diamonds from Star demonstrate s that the Star Kimberlite has a similar proportion of Type IIa diamonds to
Letseng.
The Type IIa diamond counts and the percentage of Type IIa diamonds for the major Star and Orion South
kimberlite units are documented in the table below.
Star Kimberlite (Diamonds +11 DTC (0.32 carats) to >10.8 carats)
Geological Unit
Number of Diamonds
Typed
Number of Type IIa
Diamonds
Percentage Type IIa
Diamonds
Early Joli Fou (EJF) UG 3,713 986 26.6
Pense (PPK) UG 722 205 28.4
Cantuar (CPK) UG 961 240 25.0
Total 5,396 1,431 26.5
Orion South Kimberlite (Diamonds +11 DTC (0.32 carats) to >10.8 carats)
Geological Unit
Number of Diamonds
Typed
Number of Type IIa
Diamonds
Percentage Type IIa
Diamonds
Early Joli Fou (EJF) UG 1,118 125 11.2
Early Joli Fou (EJF) LDD 445 66 14.8
Pense (P2) UG 309 43 13.9
Total 1,872 234 12.5
UG (Underground Sample) LDD (Large Diameter Drill Sample)
As can be seen from the table above, a significant number of diamond s, from each of the major kimberlite
lithologies within both Star and Orion South , have been analysed and typed. The diamonds analysed represent a
spectrum of diamond sizes from +11 DTC (+0.32 carats) through all of the large stones, up to diamonds of nearly
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50 carats. The largest Type IIa diamonds ide ntified include a 49.09 carat stone from Star and a 32.35 carat stone
from Orion South. The most valuable of the Type IIa diamonds from Star is the 11.96 carat diamond valued at
US$11,333 per carat and the most valuable of the Type IIa diamonds from Orion South is the 15.88 carat diamond
valued at US$2,800 per carat.
Type IIa diamonds contain no nitrogen or boron impurities and are frequently either top white colours (D, E, F or
G) or an y shade of brown. Many pink and brownish -pink diamonds are also Type IIa. Type IIa diamonds usually
have anhedral crystal shape and exhibit a range of elongated, distorted or irregular morphologies. Most
importantly, many high -value, top colour, large spec ials (greater than 10.8 carats) are Type IIa diamonds, which
include all ten of the largest known rough diamonds recovered worldwide, from the 726 carat Jonker to the 3,106
carat Cullinan.
The coarse diamond size frequency distribution for the Star Kimbe rlite diamond populations (particularly the
Cantuar and Early Joli Fou kimberlite units), combined with this significant proportion of Type IIa diamonds,
strongly suggests the potential for the recovery of large (plus 100 carat), high quality diamonds.
Statistics on the proportions of Type IIa diamonds produced by diamonds mines are not freely available. However,
Bowen et al (2009) published Type IIa FTIR measurements for 484 plus two carat diamonds from the Letseng
Diamond Mine. The Letseng Mine has a lo w grade of some 1 .5 to 3 cpht but is highly economic as a result of its
unusually high average diamond price (US$2,131 per carat in 2018). Letseng accounts for some 30 percent of the
world market share of diamonds greater than 25 carats and has produced so me of the biggest gem quality
diamonds recovered in the past number of years including the 910 carat Lesotho Legend, 603 carat Lesotho
Promise, the 550 carat Letseng Star, the 493 carat Letseng Legacy and the 478 carat Light of Letseng. These are all
Type IIa diamonds. The Karowe Mine of Lucara Diamond Corp . has also produced some record Type IIa diamonds
in the past few years, notably the 1,109 carat L esedi La Rona, which is the second largest gem diamond ever
recovered, and the 813 carat Constellation, which was sold for the record price of US$63.1 million.
Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Spectrometry is used to determine the concentration and aggregation state of
nitrogen within the diamonds using industry standard methods. All analyses of nitrogen content and aggregation
state were carried out at the Saskatchewan Research Council’s ( “SRC”) high security diamond facility, with 24 -
hour video surveillance. The SRC ’s Geoanalytical Laboratories is accredited to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard by the
Standards Council of Canada as a testing laboratory.
Senior Vice President Exploration & Development, George Read, states: “The presence of a significant proportion
of Type IIa diamonds in the Star and Orion South Kimberlites greatly increases the potential for the r ecovery of
large (plus 100 carat), high -value diamonds. Analysis of the Star and Orion South diamond evaluation parcels
indicated a significant proportion of Type IIa diamonds, some of which are top white in colour. The presence of
two high -value diamond groups (octahedra and Type IIa) greatly strengthens the future potential production
diamond pricing from the Star and Orion South Kimberlites.”
Star Diamond Corporation is a Canadian based corporation engaged in the acquisition, exploration and
development of mineral properties. Shares of the Corporation trade on the TSX Exchange under the trading
symbol “DIAM”. The Corporation’s Fort à la Corne kimberlites (including the Star - Orion South Diamond Project ,
or “Project”) are located in central Saskatchewan in close proximity to established infrastructure, including paved
highways and the electrical power grid, which provide significant advantages for future mine development. Rio
Tinto Exploration Canada Inc . (“RTEC”) refers to Star Diamond’s mineral disposit ions in the Fort à la Corne
diamond district as Project FalCon.
All technical information in this press release has been prepared under the supervision of George Read, Senior
Vice-President of Exploration and Development, a registered Professional Geoscientist in the Provinces of
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Saskatchewan and British Columbia and Mark Shimell, Project Manager, a registered Professional Geoscientist in
the Province of Saskatchewan, who are the Corporation’s “Qualified Persons” under the definition of NI 43-101.
References (Available on Corporation’s website)
Bowen, D.C. Ferraris, R.D. Palmer, C.E. and Ward, J.D. (2009) On the unusual characteristics of the diamonds
from Letseng-la-Terae kimberlites, Lesotho. Lithos Vol. 112S pp.767 – 774.
Breeding, C.M. and Shigley, J.E. (2009) The “Type” classification system of diamonds and its importance in
gemology. Gems & Gemology Vol. 45 No. 2 pp. 96 – 111
Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward -looking statements as defined by certain securities laws, including th e "safe harbour" provisions of
Canadian securities legislation and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward -looking information is often,
but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "believe", "ex pect", "plan", "intend", "forecast", "target", "project",
"guidance", "may", "will", "should", "could", "estimate", "predict" or similar words suggesting future outcomes or language suggesting an
outlook. In particular, statements regarding the Corporation 's future operations, future exploration and development activities or other
development plans constitute forward- looking statements. B y their nature, statements referring to mineral reserves, mineral resources,
PEA or TFFE constitute forward -looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained or implied in this press release include, but are
not limited to, the potential proportion of Type IIa diamonds in the Star and Orion South kimberlites and the potential for the recovery of
large high quality diamonds.
These forward-looking statements are based on the Corporation's current beliefs as well as assumptions made by and information currently
available to it and involve inherent risks and uncertainties, both general and specific.
Risks exist that forw ard-looking statements will not be achieved due to a number of factors including, but not limited to, developments in
world diamond markets, changes in diamond prices, risks relating to fluctuations in the Canadian dollar and other currencies relative to t he
US dollar, changes in exploration, development or mining plans due to exploration results and changing budget priorities of the Corporation
or its partners, the effects of competition in the markets in which the Corporation operates, the impact of chang es in the laws and
regulations regulating mining exploration, development, closure, judicial or regulatory judgments and legal proceedings, oper ational and
infrastructure risks and the additional risks described in the Corporation's most recently filed Ann ual Information Form, annual and interim
MD&A. The Corporation's anticipation of and success in managing the foregoing risks could cause actual results to differ mate rially from
what is anticipated in such forward-looking statements.
Although management c onsiders the assumptions contained in forward- looking statements to be reasonable based on information
currently available to it, those assumptions may prove to be incorrect. When making decisions with respect to the Corporation , investors
and others shoul d not place undue reliance on these statements and should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other
uncertainties and potential events. Unless required by applicable securities law, the Corporation does not undertake to updat e any
forward-looking statement that is made herein.
For further information: [email protected] or (306) 664-2202
www.stardiamondcorp.com
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