Afri-Can Marine Minerals has achieved its operational targets for 2000, enabling the corporation to become one of the four major marine diamond concession-holding companies in Namibia. The changes implemented and efforts deployed in the past year have positioned the corporation to now focus on the development of its concessions, and thus to participate in the large diamondiferous potential that exists off the Namibian coast to unlock growth and value.
The name of the corporation was changed to reflect this new focus.
Assets sales and the litigation settlement have enabled the establishment and pursuit of a five-year business plan, for which the following initial objectives have already been met:
With finalization of a series of option and joint venture agreements, Afri-Can now controls 28 marine concessions measuring 26,500 square kilometres. This represents the largest marine diamond concession position off the Namibian coast.
Completion of successful geophysical surveys have identified a number of large potentially diamondiferous targets. This survey work will result in further prospecting of the targeted areas during the current year.
Reconstitution of the board of directors and establishment of a highly qualified technical committee.
With these initial accomplishments in place, the way is now paved for implementation of the next stage of the company’s business plan. This comprises follow-up exploration of targeted areas to establish the presence of diamonds and the delineation of deposits and resources.
Results of operations
For the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2000, the corporation incurred a net loss of $424,503 (one cent per share) compared with a net loss of $6,119,507 (22 cents per share) for fiscal 1999.
Corporate administration and management
During fiscal 2000, management implemented a series of cost-cutting measures that enabled the corporation to decrease its general and administrative expenses by 31 per cent ($590,173 for fiscal 2000 versus $860,424 for fiscal 1999).
Mining properties
In accordance with its goal to control and operate the largest marine exploration licence area off the coast of Namibia, the corporation has invested over $2,542,618 to increase its portfolio of marine concessions in Namibia.
The book value of the mining properties is $6,234,817 as of Aug. 31, 2000, ($3,692,199 as of Aug. 31, 1999). The corporation’s major asset is its 60-per-cent interest in the Namibian gemstones EPL concessions. During fiscal 2000, the corporation acquired an additional 20-per-cent interest, therefore increasing its stake to 60 per cent by paying the vendor $2,047,376 in cash and in shares. The balance was spent on securing a series of significant option positions with other local partners in Namibia.
Exploration and development programs
Fiscal 2000 saw Afri-Can rekindle investment in exploration, the corporation spent $325,134 on the Namibian gemstones project and incurred $79,101 in maintenance and development expenses during negotiations regarding the sale of its Kade concession in Ghana. Furthermore, the corporation invested $309,388 to complete a promising regional geophysical survey on blocks J and N that have helped identify large potentially diamondiferous target areas. Further prospecting and sampling programs are planned for fiscal 2001.
Financing and capital position
The number of Afri-Can’s shares increased from 34,128,826 (valued at $18,727,576) at the beginning of fiscal 1999 to 42,922,990 (valued at $21,224,971) representing $3,497,395 of net equity financing.
During fiscal 2000, the corporation completed private placements resulting in the issuance of 10,192,000 shares in exchange of $2,603,600 in cash, sold warrants in exchange of $200,000, and collected $900,000 from the sale of Afri-Can’s Otjua interest for a total cash financing of $3,703,600. As of Aug. 31, 2000, the corporation had $161,267 in its treasury. During the months of September and November, 2000, the corporation completed a series of private placements for a total amount of $716,400.
