News Release
(NR 08-12) ? April 24, 2008
Trading
Symbol: TSX Venture: SNO
Shares Issued: 95,472,109
Snowfield Development Corp.?s (?Snowfield? or the ?Company?) has received additional diamond results from a 96.1 tonne bulk sample
that was extracted from the Mud Lake kimberlite at the Ticho Diamond Project,
located 50 km southeast of Yellowknife, NT.
The 96.1 tonne sample, initially processed at the DeBeers Dense Media
Separation (DMS) plant in Grande Prairie, AB, yielded a 1,566 kg heavy mineral
concentrate that was split and sent for macro diamond recovery using an x-ray
flow sort circuit at two separate laboratories. Approximately 2/3 of the concentrate was processed at the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) in
Saskatoon, SK, where a grease table was used to audit the x-ray rejects. The
remaining 1/3 of the concentrate was processed at the DeBeers facility in South
Africa using X-ray Sortex only.
Diamond recovery results previously reported from SRC (NR-08-08) included
4 stones from the original 1,044 kg DMS concentrate that fell on the +1.18 mm
square mesh sieve. Most recent results from the audit of the hematite-rich
concentrate tails include the recovery of 3 additional diamonds, falling on the
+1.18mm, +1.70mm and +2.36mm square mesh sieve, giving a total combined carat
weight of 0.34 carats. The three largest diamonds recovered from SRC measured
5.0 x 3.5 x 1.04 mm (colourless, clear fragment); 3.2 x 2.5 x 1.5 mm (grey,
included fragment); 2.0 x 1.84 x 1.4 mm (yellow, clear octahedron).
Processing of the remaining 1/3 of the DMS concentrate (518.8 kg) at the
DeBeers macro diamond laboratory in South Africa recovered an additional 4
diamonds weighing 0.34 carats. These stones were sieved on DTC sieves, with
three diamonds recovered on the +5 DTC sieve, and one diamond on the +7 DTC
sieve. Further descriptions of these stones are
pending.
The bulk sample results have returned an indicated diamond content of 0.7
carats per hundred tonnes (cpht). The caustic fusion audit performed by SRC on
the processed concentrate, aimed at assessing the impact of the hematite-rich
rejects and coarse crush size, failed to return significant diamond recoveries.
The Company remains encouraged by the presence of high interest indicator
mineral chemistry and is currently drilling
different areas of the kimberlite sill complex,
including a lower sill identified from previous drilling, to test the theory of
variable diamond populations across the complex and between the different
sheets.
The delineation drill program currently underway at the Mud Lake
kimberlite complex is aimed at gaining a better understanding of the size and
extent of the kimberlite, as well as collecting additional kimberlite sample
material for microdiamond recovery. During the 2008 Delineation Drill Program to
date, a total of 32 drill holes (3,563 m) have been completed on a 25 meter grid
basis testing an area to the southeast of the bulk sample pit. Drill core is
being split and sampled, with approximately 70 kg of kimberlite already
submitted for caustic fusion analysis to the SRC.
Additionally, during 2008 the Company has completed 15 exploration drill
holes (2,141 meters) in an effort to discover the up ice source of several high
interest kimberlitic indicator mineral dispersions located to the north of the
Mud Lake kimberlite. Surface till samples in the area of interest have yielded
high counts of indicator minerals, including high chrome pyrope garnets as well
as green garnets, which are known to be found in diamond bearing kimberlites
including the Premier Mine in South Africa and Udachnaya in Russia. The presence
of partial alteration mantles on a number of these indicator minerals suggests a
close proximity to the kimberlite source. Exploration efforts will continue to
track the source of these high interest indicator
minerals.
A summer exploration program is currently being planned. The program will
include the collection of additional surface till samples, aggressive
prospecting, ground geophysics and further exploration drilling. The recent
compilation of all historic till sampling, drill and geophysical data is aimed
to help refine the search for these un-sourced indicator mineral dispersions.
Exploration drilling at the Ticho Project continues and further updates
can be expected. The 2008 exploration program is under the supervision of
Jennifer Burgess, P. Geol., a qualified person under NI 43-101 who has approved
the technical content of this News Release (NR08-12).
On behalf of the Board of
Directors,
Snowfield Development Corp
?Robert T.
Paterson?
Robert T. Paterson
President and Director
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accept responsibility for theadequacy or accuracy of the contents
hereof