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RAPAPORT... Diamcor Mining Inc. received a 30-year term mining right for the Krone-Endora at Venetia project this week from the South African Department of Mineral Resources. The deal also grants Diamcor the exclusive right to mine and recover diamonds over areas initially targeted, encompassing 657.71 hectares of the project's total area of 5,888 hectares. The company has submitted an application for a mining right over the remaining area.
"This is a significant achievement for the company, our black economic empowerment partner, the South African Department of Mineral Resources, local government and the people in these areas that have and will continue to benefit from the economic development associated with this project," said Dean Taylor, the CEO of Diamcor. "With the mining right in place, we look forward to advancing the project to the next stages of development and in so doing, create value for all stakeholders while creating new direct and indirect jobs that contribute to the socio-economic development of the Limpopo region, and South Africa in general."
Diamcor acquired the project from De Beers in February of 2011 through its South African subsidiary, DMI Minerals South Africa (Pty.) Ltd., which is 30 percent owned by a black economic empowerment partner, Nozala Investments (Pty.) Ltd. Nozala is a women owned business, representing 500,000 rural women shareholders. Shortly after finalizing the acquisition, the company also entered into a long-term strategic alliance, inclusive of supply and financing components, with Tiffany & Co. To date, Diamcor has financed, developed and completed the design, construction and installation of extensive infrastructure at Krone-Endora. The near-surface nature of the deposits provide the potential for a low-cost mining operation with near-term diamond production from a known high-quality diamond source, according to Taylor.
Deposits which occur on the properties of Krone and Endora have been identified as a higher-grade alluvial basal deposit, which is covered by a lower-grade upper eluvial deposit. The deposits are proposed to be the result of the direct shift (in respect to the eluvial deposit) and erosion (in respect to the alluvial deposit) of material from the higher grounds of the adjacent De Beers Venetia kimberlite areas. The deposits on Krone-Endora occur in two layers with an average total depth of less than 15 meters from surface to bedrock.
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