TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – TSX-V-listed exploration junior Kennady Diamonds’ stock on Tuesday rallied after the company reported results from the Faraday 2014 spring drill programme at the 100%-controlled Kennady North diamond project ranked among the highest diamond sample grades recorded in Canada.

Kennady CEO Patrick Evans said, at a sample grade of 5.1 ct/t, the results confirmed that the Faraday kimberlite had the potential to host a high-grade diamond resource.

Geoanalytical Laboratories Diamond Services at the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC), which is accredited to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard by the Standards Council of Canada as a testing laboratory for diamond analysis using caustic fusion, processed about 933 kg of kimberlite recovered from Faraday.

The sample contained a significant amount of small diamonds, as well as 97 commercial-sized diamonds, larger than the 0.85 mm sieve size, and accounted for a total weight of 3.62 ct and a sample grade of 3.88 ct/t.

Besides the outstanding sample grade, almost all the commercial size diamonds were described as transparent and either white/colourless or off-white. About 75% had either no or only minor inclusions.

The company, which was in 2012 spun out of New York- and Toronto-listed Mountain Province Diamonds, noted that together with grade, diamond quality is a key value driver.

“We are very pleased with the Faraday diamond recovery results and are keenly looking forward to the diamond recovery results from the Kelvin 25 t miniature bulk sample that is currently being processed at the SRC. The summer delineation and miniature bulk sample drill programme at Kennady North is progressing well with over 10 t of kimberlite having been recovered to date from the Kelvin kimberlite pipe,” Evans said.

The company planned to publish a maiden resource statement for the Kennady North project during the fourth quarter of 2014.

The Kennady North diamond project is located immediately to the north, west and south of the Gahcho Kué diamond mine, whih is currently under development by diamond mining giant De Beers and Mountain Province.

Kennady aimed to identify a resource along the Kelvin–Faraday kimberlite corridor of between five-million tonnes and eight-million tonnes, as well as to identify new kimberlites outside of the corridor.

Kennady’s Toronto-listed stock closed the day up 8.6% at C$6.57 apiece.