Key points
- September production from the ML111 joint operation totaled 1,618 carats from 4,060 diamonds, averaging 0.40 carat per stone.
- Total JO production to Sept. 30, 2007 reached 16,245 carats from 37,963 diamonds at an average of 0.43 carat per stone.
- The latest parcel of 1,271.27 carats sold for $272,637 (U.S.) at an average of $214.46 per carat.
- The sampling vessel MV Douglas Bay, chartered from De Beers Marine, is being mobilized for a 35 to 50 day resource development program starting late October.
Diamond Fields International Ltd. (DFI) is advising of improved diamond production after seasonal
downturn from marine diamond mining joint operations (JO) with Bonaparte
Diamond Mines NL, its latest sales result and the start of resource
development sampling this month.
Production and sales
As anticipated, marine diamond production from the JO mining area in
DFI’s ML111 licence off Luderitz, Namibia, has improved. This follows the
recoveries of the previous two months which were seasonally affected by winter
conditions. Production for the month of September was 1,618 carats from 4,060
diamonds with an average size of 0.40 carat per stone.
As a result of the impact of poor weather on the equipment in the
preceding month, mining in September was largely confined to a single airlift
operation. Though production capability is reduced with only one airlift
operating, working costs are reduced as a result of lower fuel consumption.
However, good progress has been made to return both mining systems to full
availability for continuing operations. Better recoveries are expected to
continue in October as a result of improvements in both weather and mining
capacity. To Sept. 30, 2007, total production from the JO area now stands at
16,245 carats from 37,963 diamonds at an average size of 0.43 carat per stone.
The latest parcel of 1,271.27 carats was sold last week and realized
$272,637 (U.S.) at an average price of $214.46 (U.S.) per carat. Sales of production
under the JO up to Sept. 18, 2007, comprise a total of 15,566 carats
realizing $3,411,469 (U.S.) at an average price of $219.16 (U.S.) per carat.
2007 marine sampling program
Commencement of the resource development sampling program reported in Stockwatch news on Sept. 6, 2007, is scheduled for late October. The
sampling vessel MV Douglas Bay, chartered by Bonaparte from De Beers Marine
(Pty) Ltd., is being mobilized in Cape Town. This vessel was used successfully
in 2006 to define the initial JO mining resource of 63,000 carats. The
sampling program will run for a period of 35 to 50 days depending on results.
This will again incorporate an intensive program of grid-based sampling
which will be focused on substantially increasing the mining resource adjacent
to the current mining areas in ML111.
Roger Daniel, BSc (honours) geology, London, PrSciNat, the company’s president and chief executive officer, who is a fellow of the South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (SAIMM), is also a registered geological scientist with the South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP), and is thus a qualified person in terms of National Instrument 43-101, has compiled and reviewed the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.
