Rio Tinto and mineral exploration group Shore Gold have partnered in the development of a new Canadian diamond mine. Known as the Star-Orion South Diamond Project, the new site is located in Saskatchewan.
This agreement will potentially grant Rio Tinto up to 60 per cent of the proceeds from the mine, which Shore Gold has been developing for more than 20 years. According to a 2015 resource estimate, Star-Orion contains 55.4 million carats of rough diamonds at a projected average price of $210 per carat. What’s more, the project contains an estimated 11.5 million carats in inferred resources.
“We are extremely pleased to partner with Rio Tinto to further develop the potential of the project,” said Ken MacNeill, CEO of Shore Gold. “Rio Tinto is one of the few companies in the world with the resources and expertise to move forward with a project of the magnitude of the Star-Orion South Diamond Project.”
