The Namibian Minister of Mines and Energy has given notice of his intention to grant to Diamond Fields International’s wholly owned Namibian subsidiary, a new mining licence ML111, offshore Luderitz, Namibia. The company has accepted this grant and anticipates receiving formal licence documentation later this month. The licence area, covering approximately 310 square kilometres, has been granted for an initial tenure period of 15 years. Mining licence ML111 covers all identified resource areas outlined to date by Diamond Fields, including the Sea diamonds project areas.
The issuance of the mining licence provides Diamond Fields with the core regulatory approval to proceed with the development of the Sea diamonds project. Francis Waldron, chief executive officer of Diamond Fields, states that: “We are pleased the Minister and the government have shown confidence in Diamond Fields and our project by giving notice to grant the licence. Our team is excited about this development and we look forward to moving the project ahead quickly.”
The Namibian Minister of Mines and Energy has also recently granted to Diamond Fields two new exclusive prospecting licences, EPL 2779 and 2780 for the exploration of precious stones. The licences were granted for initial tenure periods of three years, with successive two yearly renewal options available.
The two contiguous licences have a combined extent of approximately 1,100 square kilometres and are located nearly 40 kilometres northeast of the coastal town of Luderitz, within the northern part of Diamond area 1, part of the vast Sperrgebiet or “forbidden zone.”
The licences were applied for on the basis of the company’s belief that they represent prospective terrain for the occurrence of palaeo river channel diamond deposits. Preliminary inspection of available data indicates that the contiguous area is crossed by the palaeo-Koichab River system, a system believed to have acted as an important point source or conduit for the contribution to, and concentration of diamonds in, economically viable deposits in Luderitz Bay. Mark Collins, chief operating officer, Allan Walden, manager of Namibia, and Randal Cullen, principal geologist, are in the process of evaluating the potential of the areas prior to planning an exploration program for 2001.
WARNING: The company relies upon litigation protection for “forward-looking” statements.
