The Renard Diamond Project in Quebec, a joint venture between the Stornoway Diamond Corporation and SOQUEM Inc, contains a considerably larger deposit of diamonds than was originally estimated, the company announced Monday.

According to a new estimate from GeoStrat Consulting, the project contains an indicated mineral resource of 23.8 million carats of rough diamonds, 3% more than earlier results indicated, and a total inferred mineral resource of 17.5 million carats – a number 31% higher than the original figure.

The site's potential mineral deposit is now estimated at 23.5 to 48.5 million carats of diamonds, nearly twice the original estimate.

The upward revision of the size of Renard's diamond resources is the result of additional drilling, which showed that three of the project's kimberlite pipes – 3, 4, and 65 – were larger than thought.

Stornoway President and CEO Matt Manson said that Renard has "evolved into a major diamond resource that continues to reward aggressive drilling."