Drilling a potential kimberlite pipe on the Bishop Nipissing properties near the town of Cobalt, northeast Ontario. Source: RJK Explorations Ltd.
RJK Explorations Ltd. [RJX.A-TSXV; RJKAF-OTC] said Tuesday March 12 that it has commenced drilling to test two potential kimberlite targets at its Bishop Nipissing diamond properties south of Cobalt, Ontario.
The company also said Robert J. Mackay, a mining engineer with 33 years of experience in the resource investment business, is joining the company as a director and Vice-President, Corporate Development.
RJK rallied sharply on the news, rising 26.3% or $0.025 to 12 cents on volume of 2.22 million. The shares trade in a 52-week range of $0.035 and 22.5 cents.
News that drilling has commenced comes after RJK recently struck a deal with prospector Anthony Bishop to acquire the Bishop Nipissing properties, which cover 2,090 hectares and encompass at least 18 potential kimberlite pipes.
Bishop (the prospector) had previously spent over four years looking for the source of the Nipissing Yellow Diamond that was found sometime during the development of the silver mines at Cobalt between 1903 and 1905.
“After closely following Bishop’s work for the last year and reviewing all of the data that Bishop has compiled, including a NI-43-101 technical report, RJK has decided to option the property and will initially drill the most likely potential kimberlite pipes that Bishop believes the Nipissing Yellow Diamond may have come from,” said RJK in a press release.
Under the terms of the option agreement, RJK pledged to make a $50,000 cash payment upon signing and issue one million shares upon regulatory approval to the prospector. Spread out over four years, are further cash payments totalling $50,000, 1.5 million shares and a work commitment of $1 million to earn a 100% interest of the properties.
The deal also provides for a 10% gross over-riding royalty for diamonds and a 1.5% net smelter royalty for other minerals.
The Bishop claims are situated in a well-established kimberlite field within the Lake Timiskaming Structural Zone. All are on Crown Land, are mostly on high, dry, well-drained topography. Drivable logging roads are within one km or less, affording easy access to the property. Close by are three hydro-electric facilities, a large electric wind farm and a gas pipeline.
The Trans-Canada Hwy. is also very close, as is the train station at Cobalt, an area with a well-established historical mining history.
RJK has recently been focusing on several mineral claim blocks that were recently acquired within the Moosehead Gold Belt in central Newfoundland. The Moosehead North and Moosehead Sound Claim Blocks clover ground that is contiguous and are within the gold belt to the north and south of the Sokoman Minerals Corp. [SIC-TSXV] gold discovery.