VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(CCNMattthews - May 21, 2004) - The Board of Directors of Kensington Resources Ltd. (the "Company") is pleased to report new microdiamonds results and a preliminary geological model for Kimberlite Body 122 of the Fort a la Corne Diamond Project in east-central Saskatchewan. Microdiamond results were recently received from the operator, De Beers Canada Exploration Inc. for work completed by the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC). Results from the 2003 core drilling and sampling program clearly show an improvement of microdiamond abundances compared to historical recoveries for this body. Kimberlite Body 122 is one of the largest bodies in the Fort a la Corne field with a footprint of 100+ hectares (based on a 30-metre modeled thickness cutoff).
A total of 327 microdiamonds were recovered utilizing caustic dissolution methods from 412.65 kilograms of core submitted to the SRC (Table 1). Representative slabbed core samples were collected from 11 HQ coreholes widely spaced across the 122 body. Six of these stones have at least one dimension exceeding 0.5 mm in length and are considered to be macrodiamonds. The SRC recovered and reported diamonds down to a lower cutoff of 0.075 millimetres in size; diamonds passing through a 0.075 mm screen were not included in the stone tallies.
Initial geological modeling of distinct kimberlite phases by De Beers, based on drill core from Kimberlite 122 shows the body is divisible into two main craters, and a subordinate third area based on relatively sparse information. The northern crater is dominated by massive to graded beds of olivine/lapilli pyroclastic kimberlite (MPK-N) overlain by interbedded sediments, resedimented kimberlite, and kimberlite (UCSK-N).
Similarly, the south crater is dominated by variably massive to bedded, fine-grained to coarse-grained, olivine/lapilli pyroclastic kimberlite (MPK-S) partially overlain by a cap of interbedded sediments and resedimented kimberlite (UCSK-S) on its' northern fringe. Other pyroclastic kimberlite (OPK) dominates the kimberlite intersection at drillhole 03-122-10, but the overall kimberlite intersection here has attenuated to 28.9 metres from a thicker interval of 53.4 metres in drillhole 03-122-09. One unit of other pyroclastic kimberlite (OPK-S1) forms a small pod near the centre of the southern crater. Drillhole 03-122-07 is the only intersection that has a basal unit of interbedded sediments and kimberlite (SAK). The order of emplacement for the individual kimberlites and their contact relationships within, and between, the two main parts of body 122 are not fully understood at this time.
The north sector of Kimberlite 122 had total recovery of 133 stones, of which 2 macrodiamonds had at least one dimension greater than 0.5 mm. Most of the stones were recovered from the MPK-N kimberlite phase producing the best average stone abundance of 9.8 stones/10kg. The overlying UCSK-N gave an average abundance of 7.5 stones/10kg based on recovery of 18 stones from a much smaller sample mass. Table 1 shows the recovery of stones by kimberlite type and area.
By comparison, the south sector returned lesser stone abundances of 7.3 and 3.9 stones/10kg for the MPK-S and UCSK-S phases, respectively. The MPK-S unit had four macrodiamonds with at least one dimension greater than 0.5 mm. OPK-S1 in the southeastern part of the body returned an average value of 8.0 stones/10kg based on the recovery of 26 stones from 32.40 kg of sample.
Table 1: Summary of 122 Microdiamond Results by Kimberlite Type
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Range of
Sampled Phase Sample Average Stones
Kimberlite Thickness Mass # of Stones/ larger than
Type (metres) (kg) Stones 10kg 0.5 mm
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MPK-N 56 - 74 117.55 115 9.8 1
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UCSK-N 11 - 43 23.95 18 7.5 1
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Total 122
North Crater: 141.50 133 9.4 2
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MPK-S 36 - 103 222.55 163 7.3 4
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UCSK-S 3 - 12 7.75 3 3.9 0
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OPK-S1 23 - 53 32.40 26 8.0 0
Total 122
South Crater: 262.70 192 7.3 4
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SAK 7 8.45 2 2.4 0
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Total 122: 412.65 327 7.9 6
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Table 2: 122 Microdiamond Recoveries by Sieve Class and Kimberlite
Type
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+0.075 +0.106 +0.150 +0.212 +0.300 +0.425 +0.600 +0.850
Kimberlite mm mm mm mm mm mm mm mm
Type Sieve Sieve Sieve Sieve Sieve Sieve Sieve Sieve
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MPK-N 50 30 19 8 4 3 0 1
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UCSK-N 4 7 4 2 0 1 0 0
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North Crater: 54 37 23 10 4 4 0 1
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% of North: 40.6 27.8 17.3 7.6 3.0 3.0 0 0.7
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MPK-S 61 48 26 16 5 3 4 0
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UCSK-S 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
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OPK-S1 8 4 6 7 1 0 0 0
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South Crater 69 55 32 23 6 3 4 0
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% of South: 35.9 28.6 16.7 12.0 3.1 1.6 2.1 0
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SAK 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
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Total 122: 124 92 56 33 10 7 4 1
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% of 122: 37.9 28.1 17.1 10.2 3.1 2.1 1.2 0.3
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Table 3: Comparison of Recent and Historical 122 Microdiamond
Results by Area
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Diamond
Recovery
Drillhole/ Year of Diamond Bottom Sample Average
Area Diamond Recovery Cut-off Mass # of Stones/
Comparison Recovery Facility(1) (mm) (kg) Stones 10kg
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122 North Crater
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122-01 1989 C.F.
Minerals not known 77 22 2.9
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MPK-N, UCSK-N 2003 SRC 0.075 141.5 133 9.4
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122 South Crater
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122-05 1992 KAL 0.074 169 42 2.8
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122-06 1993 KAL 0.074 239 99 4.5
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122-07 1994 KAL 0.074 181 51 2.5
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122-08 1995 KAL 0.074 71 26 4.1
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122-09 2001 KAL 0.074 264 22 0.8
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122-10 2001 KAL,
Lakefield 0.074 417 38 0.9
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122-11 2001 KAL 0.074 167 20 1.2
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MPK-S,
UCSK-S,
OPK-S1 2003 SRC 0.075 262.70 192 7.3
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(1) Abbreviated forms are as follows: Saskatchewan Research Council,
Saskatoon (SRC); De Beers' Kimberley Acid Laboratory, South Africa
(KAL); Lakefield Research Labs, Ontario (Lakefield); C.F. Minerals,
Kelowna, B.C.
In terms of size fractions, approximately 38% of the stones were recovered on the 0.075 mm sieve and 83% of the stones retained in sieves less than 0.212 mm (Table 2). Overall, percentage recoveries by sieve class were very similar for the north and south sectors.
Recent stone recoveries from caustic dissolution are significantly higher than similar types of historical results. Table 3 shows a comparison of diamond abundances for historical and recent results. Seven drillholes located in the south part of 122 were tested for diamond content from 1993 to 2000. Diamond abundances for these drillholes ranged from 0.8 to 4.5 stones/10kg compared to an average of 7.3 stones/10kg for the 2003 coreholes located in the 122 south crater (MPK-S and OPK areas). For the 122 north crater, combined MPK-N/UCSK-N diamond abundances are 3 times that seen in rotary hole 122-01, which was drilled in 1989. Simple evaluation of microdiamond stone counts in isolation are insufficient to estimate macrodiamond contents, but can be utilized in diamond size frequency distributions to give grade forecasts. For a more detailed explanation of recent and historical diamond recoveries from Kimberlite 122, see the expanded version of this news release located on the Kensington Resources web site (www.kensington-resources.com).
Microdiamond results for an additional high priority kimberlite body (150), drilled during the fourth quarter of 2003 are expected in the coming weeks. All results reported in this news release were part of the 2003/2004 exploration program, which was budgeted at $3.1 million. Microdiamond recovery and geology results from this work will facilitate decisions concerning further exploration and evaluation programs during the remainder of 2004 and early 2005.
Brent C. Jellicoe, P.Geo. is the Qualified Person for the Company and has reviewed the technical information herein. All aspects of quality assurance, quality control, and sample chain of custody for the Fort a la Corne Joint Venture are managed by De Beers Canada Exploration Inc., the project operator.
The Fort a la Corne Diamond Project is a joint venture among Kensington Resources Ltd. (42.25%), De Beers Canada Exploration Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of De Beers (42.25%), Cameco Corporation (5.5%) and UEM Inc. (carried 10%). The 71+ kimberlite bodies of the Fort a la Corne Field form one of the largest diamondiferous clusters in the world.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF KENSINGTON RESOURCES LTD.
David H. Stone, Director
FORM 20-F FILE #0-24980
LISTED IN STANDARD & POOR'S
TRADING SYMBOL: KRT-TSX.V
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This news release contains forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements that include the words "believes," "expects," "anticipates" or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, the risk factors contained in the Company's documents filed from time to time with the B.C. Securities Commission and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Kensington Resources Ltd. David H. Stone Director (250) 361-1KRT or Toll Free: 1-800-514-7859 (250) 361-3410 (FAX) Email: info@kensington-resources.com Website: www.kensington-resources.com or Robert A. Young & Associates Robert A. Young Investor Relations (604) 682-5123 or Toll Free: 1-877-626-2121 Email: raya@digital-rain.com
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