Diamond Fields International Ltd.’s marine
research vessel RV Poseidon on the company’s Atlantis II joint
venture concession is conducting a walk-away, sub-bottom profiling (SBP)
survey using the state-of-the-art Abyss 6000 unmanned autonomous
vehicle (UAV). The survey is being conducted pursuant to a
collaborative agreement between DFI and Leibniz Institute of Marine
Sciences at the Christian-Albrechts Universitat zu Kiel (IFM-GEOMAR).
Work will also include collating a high-precision bathymetric survey
over the structure as part of the marine research project Jeddah
transect conducted by IFM-GEOMAR and King Abdulaziz University of
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
The survey has already, for the first time, using specially adapted
cameras operating within the brine pool, managed to obtain detailed
photographs and video of the Atlantis II Deeps surface. During the two
months, marine scientists from Saudi Arabia and Kiel will perform joint
biological, geological and geophysical studies on Atlantis II and other
parts of the Red Sea in three legs from an area off the coast up to the
trench axis of the Red Sea at two kilometres depth. The Jeddah transect
project includes a broad range of scientific activity, including the
investigation of the Atlantis II Deeps, which is known to contain
significant precious and base metal mineralization. The DFI/Manafa
joint venture was granted the world’s first deepwater marine mining
licence by the Red Sea Commission in May, 2010.
The company expects to complete a National Instrument 43-101-compliant
resource statement for the Atlantis II deposit before the end of March.
The work is being independently undertaken by A.C.A. Howe based a total
of 565 cores. The cores reflect only the average top 8.5 metres of the
deposit (the average depth of penetration), which is known to be open
at depth.
“The information gained from the RV Poseidon’s survey will add to the
company’s extensive database on the Atlantis II deposit and help us
plan follow-up surveys, provisionally scheduled for later this year,
and develop the resource,” said Ian Ransome, DFI’s chief executive officer. Survey results
are expected by the second quarter of 2011.
