Shore Gold has filed the requisite Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Star-Orion South Diamond Project with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment and the mining company is looking forward to working with federal and provincial authorities while the EIS is under review, says George Read, Senior Vice President of Exploration & Development at Shore Gold.

The IES represents years of work at the Star-Orion site, located some 65 kilometers east of Prince Albert, close to the Saskatchewan River. The development proposal is seeking approval to dig an open diamond mining pit and build the necessary diamond processing infrastructure.

The Star-Orion South Diamond Project is comprised of two main diamondiferous kimberlites. According to data released by Shore Gold in June 2010, testing turned up 10,309.07 carats of rough diamonds from the Star kimberlite and 2,320.20 carats from Orion South, which at the time were valued at $1.5 million and $204,000, respectively.

Modeled per-carat prices for diamonds from the Star-Orion South project range between $116 and $344, with the average fluctuating at around $145 per carat.