Vancouver — During June, the marine diamond mining vessel of
The production is split equally between the two companies, less a 10% royalty to the Namibian government. The quality of the stones remained consistent with previous recoveries, with 95% described as gem quality.
Initial mining is targeting the western limb of the Marshall Fork deposit, where a grade of 1 carat per sq. metre is reported. A previous feasibility study on Marshall Fork outlined an indicated resource of 896,000 carats and an inferred resource of 209,800 carats grading 0.3 carat per sq. metre.
Recovered grades in June exceeded expectations, and several large stones greater than 5 carats were recovered, including one that exceeded 12 carats.
For its portion of the first parcel sold, 7,127 carats, Diamond Fields received US$239 per carat for a total of more than US$1.7 million. Included in the parcel was a high-quality, slightly blue, 5.26-carat stone that sold for US$10,457 per carat. This valuation is significantly higher than the 2003 average of US$143 per carat.
Samicor’s 104-metre, 3,300-ton vessel Kovambo demonstrated excellent operating capability and efficiency in June, with 80-90% uptime.
Meanwhile, the company has expanded its Greenland property holdings and launched a summer exploration program targeting nickel, copper and platinum group metals. Also, a 10-hole drill program on the Ogna nickel-copper project in Norway has been completed, and results are pending.
Diamond Fields has 67.9 million shares outstanding.
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