To date the ambitious Kimberley region explorer has spent $16 million on exploration - this year the exploration budget stretches out to $6 million.

Striker has recovered 13,511 diamonds (the largest of these was 10.5 carats) but is still grappling with grade.

“We now have all the ingredients for a successful mine,” Striker’s technical director, Dr Rob Ramsay, said.

“We have large stones, high quality stones and reasonable grades and optimum sorts of indicators for future discoveries. It’s now just a matter of grade and there is nothing like a bulk sample to test the water.”

 

 

The company has invested $1.2 million on an upgraded separation plant arriving from South Africa this week, and plans to process 68,000 tonnes of material in the next year.

The South African machine will allow greater throughput of material but with an increased aperture of 25mm there is the issue of also screening out larger diamonds.

It was only through a stroke of good luck (a 10 carat diamond got stuck in the separating machine) that Striker discovered its kimberlitic pipe could produce large diamonds.

The company owns more than 80% of the North Kimberley Kimberlite Province (6,200sq.km). Its projects include Beta Creek, Forrest River and North King George. The Rio Tinto-Ashton Mining Joint Venture is a partner in a one-third stake in the North King George and Beta Creek project areas.

So far Striker has concentrated drilling efforts on the 100% Striker owned Ashmore 1,2,3 and 4 pipes at Beta Creek. The pipes are about 0.3 to 0.5 hectares in size and it is estimated Ashmore holds 3 million tonnes of kimberlite material. Striker has intercepted grades of 4760 carats over a 25m interval at Ashmore.

“It is difficult to determine a grade with diamonds,” Striker’s managing director Clayton Dodd said. “This year we plan to get a good handle on the resource we have through bulk sampling and hopefully bring the project into the feasibility stages in six to twelve months.”

Successful exploration work has also been carried out 500m from the Ashmore pipes at Lower Bulgurri, and 20km south-east at Seppelt.

Two parcels, independently valued, estimated Striker’s diamonds were worth US$44-58 per carat, far exceeding the quality of diamond traditionally expected from Western Australia. WA’s biggest mine, Argyle, currently produces diamonds worth $8.50/carat.

In the space of two years Striker, through dogged determination, has gone from being technically bankrupt to having a total market capitalisation of $50 million and $7 million in the bank.

Striker was suspended in 1998 when 20% shareholder Australian Goldfields got itself into financial difficulty. High profile gem-seeker Pnina Feldman of Diamond Rose came to the rescue, assuming control of Striker by subscribing to a $6.6 million share placement.

A soured relationship between Diamond Rose and its shareholder Quantum Dolphin Plc, a George Soros fund, resulted in Diamond Rose delivering its share of Striker to Quantum Dolphin.

George Soros now stands as Striker’s biggest shareholder, holding a 17% stake of the company.

According to Dodd, Quantum Dolphin remains interested in Striker because it has been a good investment.

“They bought into Striker at 8c and we have reached a high of 33c since then,” he said.

Unfazed by DeBeers recent aggression in the market, Dodd said it has been healthy for diamond miners and explorers.

“DeBeers has made the market sit up and take notice,” he said. “If the Ashton takeover is successful DeBeers will effectively become joint venture partners with Striker in about a third of our area.

“The only effect I think that will have is from an exposure point of view. The world is now focused on Australia and that can only be good for the market.”

And if bulk sampling turns up trumps, Dodd expects Striker will be next on the take-over list.

 

 

 

 

Ashmore processing plant.