Cobalt's Gino Chitaroni has been named president of RJK Explorations.
The Kirkland Lake-based diamond junior miner said Glenn Kasner will continue as the CEO.
A Dec. 7 company news release said Chitaroni will be tasked with working his list of contacts in exploration, mining and processing to design a bulk-sampling portable processing plant for macro diamonds.
The company is looking to create a diamond mine in the Temiskaming area on its exploration property in the heart of the historic Cobalt silver mining camp.
RJK holds more than 9,000 hectares of claims in an area 10 kilometres south of the town of Cobalt where the company has made nine kimberlite discoveries. Kimberlites, one of the rarest rock types in the world, is an indication of the presence of diamonds.
The company's plan is to process kimberlite from various locations in the Lorrain kimberlite field onsite to capture macro diamonds. Recovering quality diamonds would lead to an economic evaluation of the diamond potential on its land holdings.
According to the company release, Chitaroni played a key role in advising and negotiating the land package acquired by RJK in 2019. In a statement, Chitaroni said he believes "there is more mineral wealth left in the Cobalt Mining Camp, and I intend to help RJK prove its potential as president of the company."
A well-known figure in the town of Cobalt and Coleman Township, Chitaroni is a prospector and exploration consultant, and has worked in tourism and mining heritage activities, and in economic development initiatives in the Temiskaming area.
He is currently president of the Northern Prospectors Association and is a board member of the Ontario Prospectors Association.
"We are dedicated to the efforts of bringing a second diamond mine to Ontario and to make the Cobalt area more economically vibrant as a result," he said in a release.
