Ashton Announces Third Quarter Results.VANCOUVER Vancouver, city, Canada Vancouver, city (1991 pop. 471,844), SW British Columbia, Canada, on Burrard Inlet of the Strait of Georgia, opposite Vancouver Island and just N of the Wash. border. , British Columbia British Columbia, province (2001 pop. 3,907,738), 366,255 sq mi (948,600 sq km), including 6,976 sq mi (18,068 sq km) of water surface, W Canada. Geography -- Ashton Ash·ton , Sir Frederick 1904-1988. British choreographer whose ballets include The Dream (1964) and A Month in the Country (1976). Noun 1. Ashton - British choreographer (1906-1988) Sir Frederick Ashton Mining of Canada Canada (kăn`ədə), independent nation (2001 pop. 30,007,094), 3,851,787 sq mi (9,976,128 sq km), N North America. Canada occupies all of North America N of the United States (and E of Alaska) except for Greenland and the French islands of Inc. (TSX TSX Toronto Stock Exchange (TSE before April, 2002) TSX Transfer from Stack Pointer to Index TSX True Space Extension :ACA ACA - Application Control Architecture ) Robert Robert, Henry Martyn 1837-1923. American army engineer and parliamentary authority. He designed the defenses for Washington, D.C., during the Civil War and later wrote Robert's Rules of Order (1876). Noun 1. T. Boyd Boyd may refer to any of the following: People See Boyd (surname) The name Boyd has Irish roots that originally meant "blondheaded". Fictional characters
Quebec, Fr. Québec, city (1991 pop. 167,517), provincial capital, S Que., Canada, at the confluence of the St. Lawrence and St. Charles rivers. exploration programs have advanced as planned. Ashton has completed the collection of the 2004 bulk sample from the Renard Ren´ard n. 1. A fox; - so called in fables or familiar tales, and in poetry. cluster, established the presence of kimberlitic dykes within the Lynx lynx, name given to several related small, ferocious members of the cat family. All have small heads, tufted ears, and heavy bodies with long legs and short tails. All are primarily terrestrial, although they are able to climb trees. Anomaly Abnormality or deviation. Pronounced "uh-nom-uh-lee," it is a favorite word among computer people when complex systems produce output that is inexplicable. See software conflict and anomaly detection. over a strike distance of at least 3.7 km, and confirmed, through continued exploration, the potential of the Foxtrot foxtrot one of the two artificial gaits of the five-gaited horse. A four-beat gait midway in speed between a walk and a trot. There is a great deal of similarity with several other gaits such as amble, fadge, slow pace, stepping pace, running walk, jog, hound jog. property to produce new discoveries. The collection of the summer portion of the bulk sample is now complete. To date, the 237 tonnes of kimberlitic material collected from Renard 65 and Renard 4 during 2004 have produced 70.6 carats of diamonds. These results are consistent with those from earlier mini-bulk samples. Ashton remains on track to collect 300 carats of diamonds from the Renard cluster and to obtain, in early 2005, a preliminary determination of their average value. The diamonds recovered in 2004 include a 2.9 carat CARAT, weights. A carat is a weight equal to three and one-sixth grains, in diamonds, and the like. Jac. L. Dict. See Weight. colourless colourless or US colorless Adjective 1. without colour: a colourless gas 2. dull and uninteresting: a colourless personality 3. octahedral oc·ta·he·dral adj. Having eight plane surfaces. oc  ta·he dral·ly adv. crystal,
the largest diamond obtained from Renard 4. This stone is second in
size only to the four carat stone from Renard 65 reported in 2003, and
provides further support for Ashton's belief that the Renard
cluster hosts a large stone population and features a coarse stone size
distribution. In total, 24 stones larger than 0.5 carats, including
four larger than 1.0 carat, have been recovered from less than 300
tonnes of material from the Renard cluster.
The summer program included drilling at 13 different sites along the Lynx Anomaly, a 4.5 km wide indicator mineral anomaly with associated kimberlitic cobbles cob·ble 1 n. 1. A cobblestone. 2. Geology A rock fragment between 64 and 256 millimeters in diameter, especially one that has been naturally rounded. 3. cobbles See cob coal. tr. and boulders situated approximately two kilometres west of the Renard cluster. Kimberlitic dykes were intersected at 12 of the 13 locations. Together with drill data from previous programs, these results confirm the presence of a continuous or semi-continuous dyke system extending for at least 3.7 km along the Lynx Anomaly. The dyke system is comprised of zones ranging from 0.5 to 4.4 metres in width that contain greater than 50 percent kimberlitic material. The largest continuous kimberlitic intersection intersection /in·ter·sec·tion/ (-sek´shun) a site at which one structure crosses another. intersection a site at which one structure crosses another. is 3.7 metres. To better understand the diamond content of this dyke system, Ashton collected two samples of kimberlitic boulders, each weighing five tonnes, at the northern and southern extensions of the Lynx Anomaly. Diamond results from this material are expected in early 2005. Further exploration of the Lynx Anomaly is warranted to evaluate this dyke system as well as to investigate additional untested targets within this large indicator mineral anomaly. During the 2004 program, Ashton discovered kimberlitic float at three separate and distinct locations on the Foxtrot property as far as 15 kilometres from the Renard cluster and the Lynx Anomaly and collected more than 2,000 indicator mineral samples. The discovery of kimberlitic float confirms that the Foxtrot property likely hosts kimberlitic sources other than those discovered to date within the Renard cluster and the Lynx Anomaly. The indicator mineral sampling results will assist in prioritizing targets near the recent float discoveries and identifying additional areas that warrant investigation. The recovery of commercial-sized diamonds, the presence of a coarse stone population from Renard and Lynx, the identification of new targets beyond these areas, and the consistently encouraging chemical characteristics of the indicator minerals suggest that the full potential of the Foxtrot property, one of the most promising diamond exploration projects in Canada, has not yet been realized. On November 1, 2004 and November 8, 2004, Ashton announced two separate private placements that are expected to raise $5.25 million and $2.3 million respectively. The proceeds of these offerings will be used to support Ashton's diamond exploration projects in Quebec and elsewhere in Canada. The $5.25 million and $2.3 million private placements are expected to close not later than November 19, 2004, and December 6, 2004, respectively. Ashton is pleased to announce the appointment of Mike Westerlund to the position of Manager, Investor Relations Investor relations The process by which the corporation communicates with its investors. . Mike has twelve years of communications and financial experience and Ashton looks forward to his contribution as the Corporation advances toward achieving its objective of establishing a commercial diamond deposit. The information set out below is provided pursuant to National Instrument 54-102 and unless otherwise indicated reflects the Corporation's results and activities to November 2, 2004. RESULTS OF OPERATIONS Exploration Activities Including the contribution of the Corporation's joint venture partners, gross exploration costs in the third quarter were $7.2 million (2003 - $5.0 million). Ashton's share of these expenditures was $4.0 million (2003 - $2.8 million). The level of expenditures in the third quarter was greater than during the same period in 2003 largely as a result of the completion of the second phase of the 2004 Renard cluster bulk sampling program. In the first nine months of the year, Ashton's total exploration expenses amounted to $8.7 million (2003 - $6.2 million). Quebec The 2004 bulk sampling program is designed to recover more than 300 carats of diamonds from at least 600 tonnes of kimberlitic material collected from Renard 2, 3, 4 and 65. During the winter, 237 tonnes of kimberlitic material was collected from Renard 65 and Renard 4. These samples were processed during the third quarter and resulted in the recovery of 39.8 and 30.7 carats of diamonds from Renard 4 and Renard 65 respectively. A further 390 tonnes were collected during the summer phase of the bulk sample program, including approximately 160 tonnes from each of Renard 2 and Renard 3, the two bodies that have thus far shown the highest diamond content within the Core Area. Processing of the 390 tonnes of material collected in the third quarter has commenced. This material is expected to produce the remainder of the anticipated 300 carats of diamonds from the 2004 bulk sampling program. Diamond results from each body will be released as they become available. Complete results are expected in the first quarter of 2005. The combined diamond content of mini-bulk and bulk samples collected from Renard 4 and Renard 65 to date and processed by dense media separation are 43 and 26 carats per hundred tonnes ("cpht") respectively. Table 1 below summarizes the cumulative results to date from mini-bulk and bulk samples collected from the Core Area of the Renard cluster.
Table 1: Core Area Mini-bulk and Bulk Sample Diamond Results to Date
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Dense Media Weight of Ten Estimated
Estimated Seperation Diamonds Largest Diamond
Kimberlitic Size Sample Weight Recovered Diamonds Content
Body (hectares) (tonnes) (carats) (carats) (cpht)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Unpro- Pro-
cessed cessed
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Renard 2 0.6 157.0 13.5 8.72 0.91 64
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Renard 3 0.3 158.0 10.0 14.35 1.82, 144
1.01
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Renard 4 1.0 55.0 112.2 47.86 2.9 43
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Renard 9 n/a 5.0 - n/a n/a
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Renard 65 1.5 20.0 158.8 40.80 +4.0, 26
0.92,
0.88,
0.83,
0.83,
0.77
--------------------------------------------------------------------
TOTAL 3.4 395.0 294.5 111.73
--------------------------------------------------------------------
A total of 24 diamonds greater than 0.5 carat in weight including four diamonds greater than 1.0 carat in weight have been recovered to date from the Renard cluster. The two largest stones are a diamond from Renard 65 with an estimated weight of four carats that remains embedded Inserted into. See embedded system. in drill core and a 2.9 carat colourless octahedral crystal from Renard 4. These results are encouraging as they demonstrate the presence of a coarse stone population and favourable size distribution for the Renard bodies. The summer program included drilling at 13 different sites along the Lynx Anomaly, a 4.5 km wide indicator mineral anomaly with associated kimberlitic cobbles and boulders situated approximately two kilometres west of the Renard cluster. This work resulted in the intersection of kimberlitic dykes at 12 of the 13 locations. These results, together with drill data from previous programs, confirm the presence of a continuous or semi-continuous dyke system extending for at least 3.7 km along the Lynx Anomaly. Drilling to date indicates that the Lynx dyke system includes 0.5 to 4.4 m wide zones that are comprised of greater than 50 percent of kimberlitic dykes. The maximum continuous kimberlitic intersection at each drill site ranges from 0.5 to 3.7 metres. Ten of the twelve sites where kimberlitic dykes were intersected are situated over a one kilometre strike length. This portion of the dyke system is now referred to as Lynx South and is situated at the southeastern end of the Lynx Anomaly. In conjunction with the drilling, two samples of kimberlitic boulders, each weighing approximately five tonnes, were collected from the northeastern extension and Lynx South portions of the Lynx Anomaly. These samples will be analyzed an·a·lyze tr.v. an·a·lyzed, an·a·lyz·ing, an·a·lyz·es 1. To examine methodically by separating into parts and studying their interrelations. 2. Chemistry To make a chemical analysis of. 3. for diamonds in early 2005. Target drilling was also conducted at the North Anomaly, another indicator mineral anomaly located approximately six kilometres north of the Renard cluster. The North Anomaly is characterized char·ac·ter·ize tr.v. character·ized, character·iz·ing, character·iz·es 1. To describe the qualities or peculiarities of: characterized the warden as ruthless. 2. by the presence of kimberlitic pebbles, cobbles and boulders. Five till samples collected within the anomaly have returned diamonds greater than 0.4 mm. Drilling within the anomaly resulted in two intersections of kimberlitic dykes less than 10 cm wide at one of two drill sites. More work is required to adequately explain the origin of the North Anomaly. Continued exploration of the Foxtrot property also included the collection of more than 2,000 indictor INDICTOR. He who causes another to be indicted. The latter is sometimes called the indictee. mineral samples and the completion of geophysical surveys Geophysical survey refers to the systematic collection of geophysical data for spatial studies. Geophysical surveys may use a great variety of sensing instruments, and data may be collected from above or below the Earth's surface or from aerial or marine platforms. . Kimberlitic float was recovered while collecting indicator mineral samples at three different sites located from 3 to 15 kilometres away from the Renard cluster. These three occurrences, as well as the unexplained unexplained Adjective strange or unclear because the reason for it is not known Adj. 1. unexplained - not explained; "accomplished by some unexplained process" North and Southeast Anomalies, suggest the presence of additional kimberlitic sources outside of the Renard cluster and Lynx area and further confirm the exploration potential of the Foxtrot property. Four targets were also drilled on the Tichegami property, located approximately 80 km south of the Foxtrot property. Kimberlitic dykes measuring 2.35 and 0.15 metres respectively were intersected at two of the targets. Nunavut Ashton's 2004 summer exploration program in the Slave craton The Slave craton is a relatively small Archean craton (about 300,000 km²) located in the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is dominated by ca. 2.73-2.63 Ga greenstones and turbidite sequences and ca. 2.72-2. focused primarily on the 52.5 percent owned Kikerk Lake and Ashton's 100 percent owned properties located in the Coronation Gulf Coronation Gulf () lies between Victoria Island and mainland Nunavut in Canada. To the northwest it connects with Dolphin and Union Strait and thence the Arctic Ocean; to the northeast it connects with Dease Strait and thence Queen Maud region of Nunavut. The program consisted of the collection of over 1,200 indicator mineral samples to assist in prioritizing previously identified geophysical ge·o·phys·ics n. (used with a sing. verb) The physics of the earth and its environment, including the physics of fields such as meteorology, oceanography, and seismology. targets and indicator mineral anomalies. An outcrop of a kimberlite kimberlite: see diamond. kimberlite or blue ground Dark, heavy, often fragmented igneous rock that may contain diamonds in the rock matrix. dyke approximately two metres wide was discovered while completing this work. The extent and size of this dyke is not known at the present time. Caustic caustic, any strongly corrosive chemical substance, especially one that attacks organic matter. A caustic alkali is a metal hydroxide, especially that of an alkali metal; caustic soda is sodium hydroxide, and caustic potash is potassium hydroxide. dissolution Act or process of dissolving; termination; winding up. In this sense it is frequently used in the phrase dissolution of a partnership. The dissolution of a contract is its Rescission by the parties themselves or by a court that nullifies its binding force and reinstates each analysis of a sample of kimberlite weighing a few hundred kilograms suggests that the diamond potential of the dyke is low. Laboratory results from indicator mineral samples collected in the third quarter are expected during the second quarter of 2005. These results will provide the basis for defining the nature, extent and timing of a spring or summer 2005 drilling program. Alberta Expenditures for the quarter were not significant due to a change in the nature of the 2004 program. The program originally contemplated ground geophysical surveys during the spring followed by drilling of the resulting targets in the third quarter. However, earlier geophysical surveys indicated the potential usefulness of conducting airborne airborne /air·borne/ (ar´born) suspended in, transported by, or spread by air. airborne, adj carried through the air. In health care settings, viruses or bacteria may become airborne, e.g. gravity surveys to identify non-magnetic kimberlite targets. The drilling budget was therefore reallocated to enable a gravity survey to be carried out over a portion of the Buffalo Hills property. This survey commenced in October. Other Third quarter exploration activities included regional reconnaissance  This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone and/or spelling.You can assist by [ editing it] now. programs in other areas of Canada believed prospective for diamonds. In light of the results from similar work carried out in previous years, Ashton acquired a 53,000 hectare hectare (hĕk`târ, –tär), abbr. ha, unit of area in the metric system, equal to 10,000 sq m, or about 2.47 acres. property in the Nelson River region of northern Manitoba. Exploration work on this property is expected to commence in 2005. Corporate Expenses The loss for the third quarter amounted to $2.8 million (2003 - $1.0 million) or $0.04 per share (2003 - $0.02). For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2004, the loss was $4.6 million (2003 - $3.5 million) or $0.07 per share (2003 - $0.06). Excluding deferred exploration costs written off during the period, total corporate expenses incurred during the third quarter of 2004 are 30 percent higher compared to those incurred during the same period in 2003. The increased costs are primarily attributable to the expenses arising from two visits to Ashton's field operations in Quebec by analysts, media representatives and officials of the provincial government, and to higher federal capital taxes for the year. In accordance Accordance is Bible Study Software for Macintosh developed by OakTree Software, Inc.[] As well as a standalone program, it is the base software packaged by Zondervan in their Bible Study suites for Macintosh. with specific policies and procedures Policies and Procedures are a set of documents that describe an organization's policies for operation and the procedures necessary to fulfill the policies. They are often initiated because of some external requirement, such as environmental compliance or other governmental , Ashton reviews the status of its exploration projects and properties on an ongoing basis. Deferred exploration costs attributable to projects and properties that are abandoned or no longer deemed to be significant with respect to their mineral potential are written off when that determination is made. During the third quarter, deferred exploration costs written off to operations amounted to $2.3 million (2003 - $0.7 million). The majority of these charges relate to the planned relinquishment RELINQUISHMENT, practice. A forsaking, abandoning, or giving over a right; for example, a plaintiff may relinquish a bad count in a declaration, and proceed on the good: a man may relinquish a part of his claim in order to give a court jurisdiction. of mineral claims in Nunavut. These mineral claims have been the subject of systematic and sequential exploration programs during the most recent three or four years and have now been fully evaluated for their diamond potential. Investment income is affected by the magnitude of funds under management in a given period and the interest rates that prevail from time to time. The Corporation's cash resources during the third quarter of 2004 were larger than those held in 2003 and investment income was correspondingly greater. Summary of Quarterly Results Ashton explores in remote areas across Canada Across Canada was an afternoon program that formerly aired on The Weather Network. The segment ran from early 1999 until mid 2002. The show ran from 3:00PM ET until 7:00 PM ET. . The timing and scope of exploration activities are influenced, among other factors, by the prevailing weather and ground conditions in a project area and by management's assessment of the prospectivity of each project and current results. Exploration expenditure levels can therefore vary significantly from quarter to quarter. Overall, the Corporation has increasingly focused its exploration efforts on the Quebec project. During the past three years, this project has advanced from a grassroots exploration program to the bulk sampling stage. Conversely con·verse 1 intr.v. con·versed, con·vers·ing, con·vers·es 1. To engage in a spoken exchange of thoughts, ideas, or feelings; talk. See Synonyms at speak. 2. , exploration activities in the Alberta, Nunavut and the Northwest Territories Northwest Territories, territory (2001 pop. 37,360), 532,643 sq mi (1,379,028 sq km), NW Canada. The Northwest Territories lie W of Nunavut, N of lat. 60°N, and E of Yukon. projects, previously at higher levels of activity, have reverted re·vert intr.v. re·vert·ed, re·vert·ing, re·verts 1. To return to a former condition, practice, subject, or belief. 2. Law To return to the former owner or to the former owner's heirs. to the grassroots exploration and initial discovery stages. Corporate costs have not varied significantly over time except as follows: first, during the fourth quarter of 2003 as a result of the application of new accounting standard for stock-based compensation ($745,000) and, second, during the second and third quarters of 2004 as a result of increased investor relation activities, professional fees incurred for the recruitment of a new director and an estimated increase in federal capital taxes. The new accounting policy for stock-based compensation is discussed in the Corporation's 2003 Management Discussion and Analysis dated February 19, 2004 (the "Annual MD&A") that forms part of the 2003 annual report mailed to shareholders in March of this year. The table below provides, for each of the most recent eight quarters, a summary of exploration costs on a project-by-project basis together with a summary of corporate expenses. --------------------------------------------------- --------- (Amounts in Nunavut Corporate thousands and Northwest Expenses of dollars) Alberta Territories Quebec Others (Note 1) --------------------------------------------------- --------- 2002 Fourth Quarter 135 371 426 78 474 --------------------------------------------------- --------- 2003 First Quarter 335 403 1,060 17 493 Second Quarter 66 1,010 524 12 459 Third Quarter 201 992 1,548 70 377 Fourth Quarter 257 211 650 23 1,246 --------------------------------------------------- --------- 2004 First Quarter 117 90 3,190 49 493 Second Quarter 48 642 489 32 563 Third Quarter 143 947 3,089 45 491 --------------------------------------------------- --------- Note 1: Corporate expenses exclude the write-off of deferred exploration costs OTHER ITEMS Financial Conditions and Liquidity Cash on hand at September 30, 2004 was approximately $11.9 million (December 31, 2003 - $21.6 million) and working capital was $11.0 million (December 31, 2003 - $21.2 million). Capital Resources Capital expenditures during the third quarter of 2004 relate primarily to the purchase and installation of a sophisticated security and monitoring system in Ashton's North Vancouver North Vancouver, city (1991 pop. 38,436), SW British Columbia, Canada, on Burrard Inlet of the Strait of Georgia, opposite Vancouver, of which it is a suburb. Shipbuilding, woodworking, and the shipping of grain, lumber, and ore are the chief industries. laboratory. Share Capital During the third quarter, the exercise of stock options resulted in the issuance of 29,325 common shares. On November 1, 2004 Ashton announced a non-brokered private placement of five million units at a price of $1.05 per unit. Each unit consists of one common share and one half of a warrant. Each warrant will entitle en·ti·tle tr.v. en·ti·tled, en·ti·tling, en·ti·tles 1. To give a name or title to. 2. To furnish with a right or claim to something: the holder to purchase one common share of the Corporation at a price of $1.30 for a period of 30 months after the offering closes. On November 8, 2004 Ashton announced a brokered private placement of up to two million flow-through common shares at a price of $1.15 each. Ashton has agreed to pay the agent a cash fee equal to five percent of the gross proceeds of the offering. In addition, the agent will receive broker warrants exercisable for common shares of the Corporation equal in number to five percent of the number of flow-through common shares sold. Each broker warrant will entitle the agent to purchase one common share at a price of $1.30 for a period of 18 months after the offering closes. |
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