Key points
- The diamonds came from phase 1 of De Beers Marine’s advanced sampling program conducted in November 1998 on DFI’s offshore concession near Luderitz, Namibia.
- Phase 1 yielded an average sample grade of 1.3 carats per square metre from 67 sample sites, a fivefold increase over the previous grade estimate.
- DFI is proceeding with a $1.5-million (U.S.) phase 2 program to grid line sample the balance of the 1.3-million-square-metre Marshall Fork feature.
- Phase 1 sampling was limited to water depths over 65 metres, and De Beers Marine plans to modify its vessel’s discharge system to allow sampling in depths as shallow as 40 to 45 metres.
Diamond Fields International Ltd. has sold a parcel of 4,450 carats in Antwerp for an average value of
$164 (U.S.)/carat.
The diamonds sold were those recovered from phase 1 of the company’s
advanced sampling program conducted by De Beers Marine in November 1998 on
DFI’s offshore concession in Namibia near Luderitz. The program
yielded an average sample grade of 1.3 carats per square metre from 67 sample
sites representing a fivefold increase above the previously estimated grade
for the entire feature.
The company is proceeding with the $1.5-million (U.S.) phase 2 program. The
program plan has been modified to grid line sample the balance of the 1.3-million square metre Marshall Fork feature. Proceeds from diamond recoveries
from sampling and test-mining activities are expected to substantially offset
the cost of the program. Sampling in phase 1 was limited to an area where the
water depth was in excess of 65 metres due to restrictions of the sample
recovery system on De Beers Marine’s sampling vessel, the motor vessel Coral Sea. The
Coral Sea normally operates in water depths of 120 metres to 180 metres when conducting
evaluation sampling under contract to Namdeb in Namibian waters northwest of
the mouth of the Orange River.
De Beers Marine is planning to modify the sampling discharge system on
the vessel in the next several months to allow operations to be conducted in
water depths as shallow as 40 metres to 45 metres. With the modifications the vessel
will be able to work in the balance of the feature. DFI and De Beers Marine
are currently finalizing contract negotiations for phase 2 sampling services
to begin once the vessel has been modified some time around midyear.
Immediately thereafter, a feasibility study for an initial mining operation
would be undertaken.
The company also plans to conduct further sampling on the concession.
Phase 3 of the program is designed to both upgrade and expand the overall
resource by resampling two known features with proven techniques and
systematically examining two large features not previously sampled.
Overall the goals for the program are to outline sufficient resources to
support a multifaceted, long-life operation capable of producing several
hundred thousand carats per year.
