01:33 PM EST, 01/08/2018 (MT Newswires) -- Shore Gold (SGF.TO) said Monday that overburden drilling into the Star kimberlite at the Star-Orion South diamond project in central Saskatchewan is complete, a needed step before the company and Rio Tinto's (RIO) Canadian exploration unit ready a mini bulk-sampling program at the site.

The company said the bulk drilling will take place later this year at the site, 60 kilometers east of Prince Albert. It estimates the kimberlites on the property contain an indicated resource of 393 million tonnes of ore containing 55.4 million carats of diamonds and an inferred resource of 11.5 million carats.

Rio Tinto has an option to acquire a 60% interest in the project.

Shore Gold shares were last seen at $0.175, down $0.005 on the Toronto Stock Exchange. The shares have traded between $0.15 and $0.44 over the past 12 months.