Afri-Can Marine Minerals Corp. has entered into a consultancy agreement with Natural Diamond Corp. N.V. of Antwerp, Belgium, whereby Natural Diamond will provide diamond evaluation and marketing consultancy services.
Natural Diamond is well established in the diamond marketing sector, providing a variety of services including diamond valuation, diamond marketing strategy, diamond cutting, and the marketing of rough and polished diamonds. Natural Diamond is a private company founded by Jacques Lewy and Samuel Scheffer, who have over 75 years of combined experience in the diamond industry. Mr. Lewy is a member of the board of directors of the public relations and marketing committee of HRD, the co-ordinating body and official representative of the Belgian diamond sector.
Pierre Leveille, president and chief executive officer of Afri-Can, stated: “We are very pleased with this agreement as it brings to Afri-Can a very important expertise in diamond valuation and marketing. Furthermore, Natural Diamond has extensive knowledge of Namibian offshore diamonds, and we believe their involvement will add value to the development our of business in Namibia.”
The salient features of the agreement are summarized as follows.
During the exploration period, Natural Diamond will consult and assist Afri-Can in various matters including the preparation and evaluation of rough diamond samples, Kimberley process and related issues, shipment, insurance and various marketing options.
Natural Diamond will also act as the exclusive marketing agent for the sale of Afri-Can’s diamond production. Natural Diamond will remain the exclusive marketing agent for a period of three years after commencement of commercial production. Marketing strategy will be determined according to diamond market conditions, and in co-ordination with the management and the board of directors of Afri-Can.
During the exploration phase, Natural Diamond will be granted 200,000 shares of Afri-Can on every anniversary of the agreement until commencement of commercial production. During the commercial mining phase, Natural Diamond will receive a commission fee of 5 per cent for sales up to $1-million (U.S.) per month, 4 per cent for sales between $1-million (U.S.) and $2-million (U.S.) per month, and 3 per cent on sales over $2-million (U.S.) per month.
- During the exploration period, Natural Diamond will consult and assist Afri-Can in various matters including the preparation and evaluation of rough diamond samples, Kimberley process and related issues, shipment, insurance and various marketing options.
- Natural Diamond will also act as the exclusive marketing agent for the sale of Afri-Can’s diamond production. Natural Diamond will remain the exclusive marketing agent for a period of three years after commencement of commercial production.
- Marketing strategy will be determined according to diamond market conditions, and in co-ordination with the management and the board of directors of Afri-Can.
- During the exploration phase, Natural Diamond will be granted 200,000 shares of Afri-Can on every anniversary of the agreement until commencement of commercial production.
- During the commercial mining phase, Natural Diamond will receive a commission fee of 5 per cent for sales up to $1-million (U.S.) per month, 4 per cent for sales between $1-million (U.S.) and $2-million (U.S.) per month, and 3 per cent on sales over $2-million (U.S.) per month.
Block J exploration program update
Due to temporary low fuelling capacity at the port of Luderitz in Namibia, the departure of the Mare Oceano has been delayed, and the vessel is now scheduled to sail to block J on Oct. 17, 2006, rather than on Oct. 8 as originally scheduled.
The first phase of the resources delineation program on block J will consist of a geophysical survey which will total approximately 1,200 line kilometres, and the extraction at least 25 vibro-core samples of 100-millimetre diameter. The aim of the first phase, which will last approximately 25 days, is to accurately map and model Feature 6 and Feature 8 and to increase the company’s understanding of the geology, stratigraphy and to determine the volume of diamondiferous gravels contained in the deposits. Furthermore, the interpretation of the results of the first phase will enable the finalization of the details of the second phase of the program, which will essentially be a bulk sampling of approximately 319 large samples, each of 10 square metres. The second phase is planned to begin soon after the completion of the analysis and interpretation of the results from the first phase. The aim of the complete program is to delineate diamond resources on block J in compliance with National Instrument 43-101.
