VIDEO - Dunnedin Ventures: Diamond Market Trends Looking Positive

Dunnedin Ventures (TSXV:DVI) President Claudia Tornquist believes the diamond market is trending positively, particularly as it faces lower supply levels and healthy demand. Joined by CEO Chris Taylor, she also discusses how the company fits into this growing market and the status of its flagship Kahuna project in Nunavut.

According to both executives, Dunnedin is poised to begin drilling for the first time in the company’s history, and is expecting to provide shareholders with positive results as 2018 progresses.

Below is a transcript of our interview with Dunnedin Ventures President Claudia Tornquist and CEO Chris Taylor. It has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Investing News Network: Could you start by telling us about the diamond market? What’s going on right now?

Dunnedin Ventures President Claudia Tornquist: The diamond market underwent a difficult period over the last couple of years, but the recent trends are looking very encouraging. At the end of 2017, the rough diamond price was up 3 percent, and in January sales we saw further price increases. In 2018, supply levels will likely decrease as there are no new sources coming online, and the Russian Mir mine is being permanently closed. At the same time, the demand picture is looking very positive as economies are humming and stock markets are up. I feel very positive about the diamond price moving forward.

INN: How does your company fit into the picture? What is Dunnedin up to right now?

Claudia Tornquist: Dunnedin is an advanced diamond exploration company in Nunavut, and our main project is the Kahuna project near the Rankin Inlet. We have a great team in place, including Chuck Fipke, who is a legend in Canadian diamond mining. He is one of our advisors and a large shareholder. We have proven diamond potential on our property with an existing resource of 4 million carats at a good grade — 1 carat per tonne — and we will soon be drilling for the first time in the company’s history for kimberlite pipe targets.

INN: Chris, can you tell us how diamond kimberlite pipe targeting works?

Dunnedin Ventures CEO Chris Taylor: Our Kahuna project benefits from a lot of data. There have been over 10 years of exploration on the property and we have been working with Chuck Fipke for the last three years to identify which of the pipe targets — of which there are many — would be the most likely to host good populations of nice diamonds. We know there are nice diamonds on the property, and now we are getting ready to go in and test the targets that look to be very attractive.

INN: Claudia, what are Dunnedin’s upcoming catalysts? What can investors watch for?

Claudia Tornquist: There are quite a few. We will be drilling in March, and will be able to update the market with our drilling results at that time. Later on, in June and July, we will have further news when we get back the assay results. It will be a very exciting year for Dunnedin. We are hoping for a transformative discovery, and that would be very positive for our shareholders.

Note: The Kahuna diamond project has an inferred resource of 3,987,000 tonnes at an average grade of 1.01 carats per tonne (cut off +0.85 mm) as per “Technical Report and Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate for the Kahuna Diamond Project, Nunavut, Canada” prepared by APEX Geoscience, Kristopher J. Raffle, B.Sc., P. Geo. and Andrew J. Turner, B.Sc., P. Geol. on March 11, 2015.

CEO interviews are part of investor education campaigns for clients advertising on the Investing News Network. Important news is contextualized by CEOs, and the resulting interviews are disseminated to the Investing News Network audience because they have value to market watchers.

The Investing News Network interviews a CEO for an understanding of their perspective on the company, the investment potential of the company and market news related to the company. The information contained here is for information purposes only and is not to be construed as an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of securities.

The interview below was originally published by the Investing News Network in November 2017.

Dunnedin Ventures (TSXV:DVI) is gearing up for an exciting year, and newly appointed president Claudia Tornquist recently took the time to explain what the diamond exploration company has planned.

In the video above, Tornquist highlights Dunnedin’s upcoming drill program, which will have two main objectives: expanding the existing resource at the project and drilling “new, exciting pipe targets.”

Tornquist, whose extensive experience in the diamond sector includes a stint leading the development of a growth strategy for Rio Tinto’s (ASX:RIO,LSE:RIO,NYSE:RIO) diamond business, believes those programs will highlight Kahuna’s strong potential.

“I was very attracted to Dunnedin’s Kahuna project because of the potential I see in it,” she says. “What got me listening initially was Chuck Fipke’s comment that it was the best diamond project, the most promising diamond project, he’d seen in Canada since he discovered Ekati.”

Watch the video above for more insight from Tornquist on Dunnedin and on the diamond market as a whole. You can also view the transcript for this interview below.

INN: Would you mind starting by talking about your background in diamond mining and what drew you to your new position at Dunnedin?

CT: I’ve been in mining for quite a few years now. I worked for nine years with Rio Tinto, and also quite extensively with their diamond group, for example in the evaluation of their big Argyle and Diavik diamond projects. I was very attracted to Dunnedin’s Kahuna project because of the potential I see in it. What got me listening initially was Chuck Fipke’s comment that it was the best diamond project, the most promising diamond project, he’d seen in Canada since he discovered Ekati.

INN: There are a number of people on the team at Dunnedin who have extensive experience working in the diamond industry and in Nunavut. Can you tell me about them and what they bring to the company?

CT: I already mentioned Chuck Fipke, who’s a legend in Canadian diamonds. He’s one of the largest shareholders in Dunnedin, and has been involved in depth in the exploration work, applying the same methods he used in the Ekati discovery. He’s been invaluable. Another big supporter of the project and an advisor to the company is John Robins, who’s been involved in Nunavut for [about 20] years. His experience as a mining entrepreneur and company builder has also been incredibly helpful.

INN: Dunnedin’s main asset is the Kahuna project in Nunavut. What work has the company done there this year?

CT: [We’ve taken] a couple of important steps forward this year. We’ve announced all the diamond recoveries from our bulk samples, and had grades consistently higher than have been historically recovered. We have also done an extensive sampling program. Last year, we took 1,100 samples and this year more than three times as many. Another important milestone was the endorsement we got from the local communities for the project, and the support from the local communities.

INN: What are the company’s plans headed into 2018? What would be the next major catalyst?

CT: 2018 will be a very exciting year for Dunnedin. It will be the first time we will put the drill bit to the ground, and we’ve got a drill program planned with two objectives. Firstly, to expand our existing resource. We are confident we’ll be able to increase the resource from the current 4 million carats to approximately 10 million with quite a limited, low-cost program. That’s the first angle of our exploration.

Secondly, we will be drilling some new, exciting pipe targets that we think have the potential to take the company to the next level. We’ve spent a lot of work on sampling and data analysis over the last two years, and Chuck Fipke has been instrumental in this. We’ve prioritized a large number of kimberlite pipe targets, and we’ll now drill the most promising of those. [We] hope to be able to announce a transformative discovery next year.

INN: Do you have funding in place to carry out those plans, or will you be going to market for financing?

CT: We are funded for this winter drill program.

INN: Can you share some insight on the diamond industry as a whole right now? What did we see in 2017, and what do you think we’ll see next year?

CT: 2017 certainly was a somewhat challenging year for the diamond industry, with three new big mines coming on. The weakness was mostly in the lower-quality diamond segment, with the higher-quality diamonds performing well, and that’s where we think our diamonds will be. We’re quite optimistic on the diamonds from the Kahuna project. We had in the past a 5-carat diamond that was reconstructed from a 13-carat diamond in a relatively small sample, and they are certainly good-looking diamonds. We’re quite optimistic on our diamonds.

Going forward, I think the supply picture in the general diamond market looks quite good in that there are only two large projects in the pipeline of +1 million carats. There’s not too much new supply coming on, and the economy is strong in the main markets — US, China, India. Hopefully we’ll see good demand.

CEO interviews are part of investor education campaigns for clients advertising on the Investing News Network. Important news is contextualized by CEOs, and the resulting interviews are disseminated to the Investing News Network audience because they have value to market watchers.

The Investing News Network interviews a CEO for an understanding of their perspective on the company, the investment potential of the company and market news related to the company. The information contained here is for information purposes only and is not to be construed as an offer or solicitation for the sale or purchase of securities.