Canadian-listed diamond exploration group Afri-Can Marine Minerals Corporation has announced a major diamond discovery offshore Namibia which has the potential to be the largest-ever diamond field in that country in terms of area.
The discovery is also significant for the Namibian economy in that it is located in an area previously believed by diamond industry analysts to feature no diamonds.
Speaking at the eight annual International Mining Indaba in Cape Town on Wednesday, Afri-Can president and CEO Pierre Léveillé said the Montreal-based
company had found significant deposits of diamonds at several places along a 40-kilometre strip of seabed in Block J offshore Namibia, about 105 kilometres north of Luderitz.
In its sampling activities there since 2000 the company had uncovered 107 gem-quality stones weighing a total of 16,05 carats, of which the largest weighed 0,64 carats, Léviellé told conference participants.
“The grade of the new diamond field is estimated at 7,2 carats per 100 cubic metres of screened gravel, but many areas feature a much higher grade,”
explained Dick Foster, the company’s resources development manager, who for 20
years was involved in marine diamond mining at De Beers.
“The total area of the proved and potentially mineralised zone currently stands at 42,1 square kilometres, and it has the potential to become one of the biggest in Namibia in terms of area,” Foster said.
“Although it is very early days to say we have a mine, there is every reason to believe that it will develop into one. At the current stage, the project is within the realm of potential viability.”
Afri-Can, which trades on Canada’s TSX Venture Exchange, holds 70% of the interest in Block J, which covers an area of 994 square kilometres, and its
controls a total exploration area of 26 500 square kilometres offshore Namibia,
making it the holder of the largest marine exploration license in the country. Water depths range from 70 to 167 metres.
The company’s directors and shareholders include Tony Bloom, a former chairman of Premier Mining and Chris Von Christienson, a director of GoldFields
and Chairman of Rio Narcea Gold Mines.
Afri-Can would now undertake further sampling with its leased underwater mining vessel to prove the diamond content and establish the resources of the field, Foster said, with a timeframe of only four to seven years for full development. – I-Net-Bridge