Afri-Can Marine Minerals has agreed to acquire a 75-per-cent undivided interest in four exploration licences (EPLs) situated northeast of Gibeon in south-central Namibia from Deep South Mining (Pty.) Ltd. and South-End Mining Corporation (Pty.) Ltd. In terms of the agreement, Afri-Can will acquire the interest in the EPLs for a total cash payment of $400,000 (Namibian) ($72,000 (Canadian)) combined with the issuance of 400,000 shares of Afri-Can.
Forty-nine known kimberlitic pipes are located on a concession area measuring 4,000 square kilometres. Recent reassessment of existing exploration data by the Geological Survey of Namibia now places the boundary of the Kalahari craton west of Gibeon instead of western Botswana where it was originally believed to be located, thus greatly enhancing the diamond prospectivity of the Gibeon kimberlite field. The recent discovery in the area of a 200-metre-deep shaft operated in the early 20th century by German prospectors and of some old German prospecting data confirms the fact that diamonds were recovered during that period.
It is probable that the Gibeon area and the region to the northeast of Gibeon were drained by the Tsauchab River during the late Cretaceous, and that this river system was most probably the source of the 594,000 carats of diamonds which were mined to the north of the mouth of the Tsauchab River by German operators in the early 20th century. This same river system could also be the source for some of the diamonds discovered on Afri-Can’s block J marine concession area, thus enhancing the supply of diamonds brought northward from the Orange River. These stones might also be expected to be larger than stones that transport models calculate, that might have been carried to block J from a more southerly origin.
The work program on the EPLs, which will commence in the southern winter, will include a review of historical data, detailed mapping of the area, which will include the search for additional kimberlites, and the location of the precise position of the cratonic boundary, together with a reclassification of the known kimberlite pipes. Details concerning the exploration programs will be made public once the planning phase is completed.
The agreement to purchase the EPLs is conditional upon approval by Canadian and Namibian regulatory authorities.
