Key points
- MV DP the Explorer recently completed a sea test of its mechanical systems and returned to dry dock for adjustments.
- IMDH expects the vessel to leave the JSML Shipyard in Singapore by mid-November before sailing to Cape Town, South Africa.
- Afri-Can expects sampling on block J to begin about two months after the vessel arrives in Cape Town, where the sampling tool and processing plant are ready for installation.
- The program aims to delineate diamond resources on block J in compliance with National Instrument 43-101, according to CEO Pierre Leveille.
International Mining and Dredging Holding Ltd. (IMDH) has advised Afri-Can Marine Minerals Corp. that the conversion of the contracted sampling vessel, MV DP the Explorer, is well advanced and approaching completion. The vessel recently completed a sea test of the mechanical systems and has returned to dry dock for normal adjustments prior to sailing to Cape Town, South Africa. Therefore, IMDH has advised Afri-Can that the vessel will leave the JSML Shipyard in Singapore by mid-November.
Once conversion is complete, MV DP the Explorer will sail from Singapore to Cape Town, South Africa, where the sampling tool and the mineral processing plant are ready to be installed. Afri-Can presently expects sampling on block J to commence approximately two months after DP the Explorer’s arrival in Cape Town. Afri-Can will provide investors with a detailed time schedule following the vessel’s departure from the shipyard in Singapore. The aim of the complete surveying and sampling program is to delineate diamond resources on block J in compliance with National Instrument 43-101.
“We are happy to see that the vessel conversion is nearly completed, and we are confident that despite the delays, we have followed the right path in chartering this vessel as it will provide the best means to meet our goal of delineating a world-class diamond resource,” commented Pierre Leveille, president and chief executive officer. “Very few alternative vessels are available and certainly none match the specifications of this vessel. This will ensure that our sample results will be of very high quality and reliability.”
