Etruscan Resources (EET-T) and Mountain Lake Resources (MOA-V) have inked letters of intent to acquire 3 new diamond properties in the Ventersdorp district of the Republic of South Africa.
The properties cover a 9-km-long portion of the historical Zwartplaat alluvial gravel deposit lying midway between the partners’ Ventersdorp and Mooi River properties. Historical production records and government geological maps indicate the presence of gravels that comprise a portion of a paleo-river system developed on underlying dolomites marked by extensive karst sinkholes and elongated gorge formations.
Exploration aimed at evaluating the size of the deposit is planned for this summer.
Historical production records from the South African Minerals Bureau indicate the recovery of 47,570 carats of diamond by small-scale mining up to 1984. Records of production since 1984 are unavailable.
The partners also report that the initial phase of construction on the Ventersdorp project remains on schedule and budget for production in the third quarter of 2002.
Johannesburg-based Manhattan Mining Equipment is charged with the construction and commissioning of a 1.2-million-tonne-per-year processing plant comprising a 200-tonne-per-hour screening and scrubbing circuit with a 50-tonne-per-hour dense media separation plant and finalx-ray (Sortex) recovery room.
The plant is slated to reach design capacity during the third quarter of 2002. Annual production is projected at 19,200 carats of gem quality diamonds.
In March, the partners said that small-scale contract mining on the Ventersdorp alluvial diamond project’s Hartbeestlaagte 146 property, one of a group of three properties under the Ventersdorp banner, yielded a total of 3,948 gem quality diamonds weighing 4,293 carats since February of 2000.
The stones average 1.09 carats in weight and US$400 per carat in value. The largest diamond recovered weighed in at 16.5 carats.
At last count, the alluvial diamond project hosted a resource of 14.5 million tonnes of gravel with a historic average grade of 1.5 carats per 100 tonnes.
Contract bulk sampling on the Hartbeestlaagte 146 IP and Klipgat 18 IQ (on the Mooi River group) properties continues with positive results.
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