Diamond Fields International Ltd.’s
independent
consulting company SRK Consulting has estimated an indicated resource
of 63,000 carats in the Diaz Prospect 1 joint operations area in ML 111
offshore Luderitz, Namibia, derived from sampling conducted under the
previously announced joint operations agreement with Bonaparte Diamond Mines
NL.
Details of the indicated resource calculation, including the key
assumptions, parameters and methods used to estimate the indicated resource,
are contained in the NI 43-101 technical report entitled “Resource Estimates
for the Diaz Prospect 1, Namibia” dated December, 2006, prepared by SRK for DFI
and Bonaparte, a copy of which has been filed under DFI’s profile on the SEDAR.
Key points from SRK report:
indicated resource of 63,000 carats of newly defined resource has
been independently estimated in the Diaz Prospect 1 area in ML111,
Namibia;
total resource area of 315,000 square metres at average grade of 0.2 carat per square m;
76 per cent of total resource (48,000 carats) occurs at an average grade of
0.43 carat per square m in an area of 111,500 square m within defined resource area;
anticipated 30-per-cent increase in estimated grades during mining; and
large average stone size of 0.47 carat per stone.
- indicated resource of 63,000 carats of newly defined resource has
been independently estimated in the Diaz Prospect 1 area in ML111,
Namibia;
- total resource area of 315,000 square metres at average grade of 0.2 carat per square m;
- 76 per cent of total resource (48,000 carats) occurs at an average grade of
0.43 carat per square m in an area of 111,500 square m within defined resource area;
- anticipated 30-per-cent increase in estimated grades during mining; and
- large average stone size of 0.47 carat per stone.
SRK’s NI 43-101-compliant indicated resource estimate of 63,000 carats
occurs within seven discrete zones in DP1 with a combined area of 315,000 square m and
an average grade of 0.2 carat square m. This global grade exceeds the assay cut-off
of 0.1 carat per square m which is normally applied to offshore diamond resource
estimates. Application of an assay cut-off of 0.2 carat per square m shows that within
this global resource area, at least 76 per cent (48,000 carats) of the resource is
contained in an area of approximately 111,500 square m at an average grade of
0.43 carat per square m. SRK anticipates that grades achieved during mining could be in
the order of 30 per cent higher than estimated as a result of operational experience
in the Namibian offshore environment.
SRK comments that these resource areas are all readily accessible to
airlift mining, as employed by the company’s mining ship, MV DF Discoverer.
The diamondiferous gravels generally lie at shallow depths within relatively
thin average sediment thickness ranging from 0.5 m to 2.5 m conducive to high
production rates and lower unit costs.
The average size of the diamonds in DP1 is estimated by SRK at
0.47 carat per stone (arithmetic mean) which is significantly higher than displayed in
most deposits delineated to date in the Luderitz 2 area. The diamonds
recovered in sampling have an average Namibian government diamond valuation of
$318 (U.S.) per carat.
Dr. A.E. Annels is responsible for the resource estimates contained
within the SRK report and is the designated qualified person. Dr. Annels has
39 years of postgraduate experience in exploration and mining geology and in
particular, has been involved in the auditing of offshore diamond projects
and the estimation of their resources for the last six years. He is a fellow of
the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy (now IOM3) and thus meets all the
requirements of a qualified person in terms of NI 43-101. SRK has given its
approval to the reference to the SRK report and information derived therefrom
in this announcement in the form and context in which it appears.
The company is currently in discussions with Bonaparte to incorporate the
DP1 resources in its mine plan by concluding the mining agreement envisaged in
the joint operations agreement reported in Stockwatch Aug. 18, 2006.
The company also announces the retirement from the board of directors of
John Collier. Mr. Collier had a long and exceptional career in the mining
industry and the company has certainly benefited over the past few years from
his wisdom, guidance, knowledge and experience. The board of directors would
like to thank Mr. Collier for his excellent and diligent contribution to the company
and wishes him very best wishes in all his future endeavours.
