Twin Mining’s Jackson Inlet Diamond Play – An Arctic project with a competitive edge

2004

Hermann Derbuch,

A number of factors contribute to a competitive economic advantage for exploration and development of Twin Mining Corporation’s 100%-owned Jackson Inlet diamond discoveries on the Brodeur Peninsula of Baffin Island. In the case of development and mining economics, these factors include: 1) proximity to a natural deepwater harbour; 2) confirmed long term viability of the nearby Nanisivik mine in a similar setting; 3) low environmental risk due to lack of soil, wildlife and fauna; 4) no pre-production waste stripping at the Freightrain or Cargo 1 kimberlite pipes; 5) large proportion of high quality diamonds; and, with the recent discoveries by Rio Tinto/Kennecott, 6) a probability of cost savings through shared infrastructure and ancillary facilities. In the case of exploration, advantages include: 1) very little contamination of diamond indicator mineral halos from spurious sources because of the ubiquitous limestone bedrock covering the peninsula; 2) nominal glacial transport, making it easier to locate kimberlite sources of indicator minerals; 3) a flat magnetic background that allows even weakly magnetic kimberlites to be identified; and, 4) a contiguous land package (5,086 km2) centered 90 km from an airport with commercial jet service, thus minimizing logistical costs.

Keywords: Advantage, Jackson Inlet, economic, Diamond, Competitive, Mining, Development, Twin Mining, Baffin, Exploration