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RAPAPORT...
Diamond Fields International Ltd. resumed offshore operations at its Namibian diamond concessions through a joint venture with International Mining and Dredging South Africa (Pty.) Ltd., a subsidiary of International Mining and Dredging Holdings Ltd. and an associate company of Nutam Pty. Ltd. of Namibia. The diamond development program, which Namibia approved on June 3, targets mining concessions ML-138, ML-139 and ML-111 to ascertain the grade and size of marine diamond deposits, the available quality and diamond carat sizes, the nature of the overburden, the soils and the hard layer and the economic and technical considerations for undertaking mining activities.
During the initial stage, Diamond Fields will deploy The DP Star vessel to complete geophysical surveys in the concession areas, followed by a sampling vessel to complete reconnaissance sampling of identified targets. In the third stage of the program, the sampling vessel will complete bulk sampling for a preliminary resources assessment and preparation of a mining plan. Should results from the first three stages warrant it, the parties will enter the fourth stage to finalize a mining plan and deploy a vessel to carry out diamond mining. The partners intend to use state-of-the-art sub-sea crawler systems that they determined could excavate up to 17 meters of substrate, accessing target areas that were previously out of reach. International Mining and Dredging will bear the costs through completion of the third stage. In exchange, it will receive representation on Diamond Field's board and earn an increasing percentage of ownership interest as it successfully completes each stage, according to the announcement. Sybrand van der Spuy, Diamond Fields' CEO, said, "These are exciting times for Diamond Fields. Getting back onto the water is a major milestone which the company has worked toward for years. We have targeted a number of resource areas, with special interest in the palaeo-channel systems, that we intend to work up in the coming months with the intent of mining should results warrant."
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