Mr. Smeenk did muse about completing such a test, first with KWG and later with Debut, but his backers balked at the plan. Getting a diamond value for a low-grade pipe is usually costly; even De Beers waited a decade between completing a mini-bulk test of Victor and collecting a large bulk sample. Chuck Fipke'sMetalex Ventures Ltd. (MTX: $0.07) estimated that such a test of its similarly low-grade U2 pipe, about 60 kilometres west of Victor and MacFadyen, could cost about $20-million or more. As a result, even the indefatigable Mr. Smeenk now appears weary of the project.