African Diamonds on Monday announced further results from its joint venture with De Beers at the AK6 diamond discovery in the Orapa province in Botswana.
From the LDD016 drill-hole a total of 2 258 diamonds weighing 122,1-carats were recovered from 316-tonnes from one 23-inch large-diamond drill hole.
“Of particular interest is the fact that 767 diamond fragments were recovered from a single sample. Although it cannot be stated with absolute certainty, the evidence suggests that 760 of the fragments, weighing 34,6-carats, have been derived from a single diamond.
“It is thought that the value of this stone would not significantly affect the value of the overall parcel of diamonds from this phase of the evaluation programme,” African Diamonds said.
“The latest AK6 drilling results further confirm the growing importance of this outstanding discovery. The grade continues to improve, particularly in the volumetrically important southern lobe, as does the size distribution headlined by the discovery of what is thought to be a 34,6-carat stone and a 7,98-carat stone,” said African Diamonds Chairman John Teeling.
In other news, Canadian and London-listed SouthernEra Diamonds on Monday reported very encouraging diamond results from its Tshikapa alluvial exploration programme in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
A total of 1 809 diamonds weighing 222,26-carats had been recovered from samples processed through SouthernEra’s onsite diamond plant.
The average recovered diamond grade was 0,67-carats per cubic metre, with the highest diamond grade being 13-carats per cubic metre.
An independent De Beers valuation of 213,69-carats has returned an average value of $41,60 per carat.
The largest diamond, weighing 1,37 carats, was valued at $730 per carat.
SouthernEra controls a 34km stretch of Kasai River and 2km of the Tshikapa River within the rich diamond-producing area of south-western DRC.
SouthernEra owns a 100% interest in four permits covering 80,35 square-kilometres and a 70% interest in a further four permits covering 77,73 square-kilometres.
In order to accelerate the diamond exploration programme, SouthernEra was preparing to conduct a geophysical survey of the highly prospective confluence area of the Kasai and Tshikapa rivers to target the bedrock-based trap-sites in the active river for definition of an indicated resource.
SouthernEra will commence drilling next month of low-lying terraces adjacent to the Kasai River using a mobile Conrad PP150 Banka 8-inch drill-rig.
Depending on these results, a follow-up bulk sampling campaign would enable these extensive potentially bulk-mineable deposits to be moved to an inferred resource category, the company said.
Meanwhile, Diamond mining company Petra Diamonds on Monday announced the recovery of a 67,1-carat diamond from its South Africa operations.
The diamond was of high quality and was expected, on sale, to realise a significant value, the company said.
This stone was in addition to the 76-carat diamond recovered in November 2005, which was sold for $465 000.
“We are delighted to announce the recovery of another exceptional stone. Recoveries such as this, combined with the production growth being achieved from the South African mines in an environment of stringent cost control, give a sound platform for Petra’s operating results going forward.
“Whilst such recoveries cannot be guaranteed on a regular basis, the improvements to the mining methods put in place over the last six months increase our expectation of further such recoveries,” said Petra’s CEO Johan Dippenaar. — I-Net Bridge