One of Canada's fully integrated diamond companies, SouthernEra Diamonds Inc (TSX: SDM, AIM: SRE) says it is aiming at moving its 100 percent Badibanga Alluvial Diamond Project in the DRC into production after diamonds recovered during bulk sampling averaged 2.00 carats per cubic metre.
A total of 3,124 diamonds with an overall weight of 348.11 carats has been recovered to date from a sampling of 174 cubic metres. The largest recovered diamond weighed 1.75 carats. The company is interested in extracting a representative parcel of 2,000 carats of rough diamonds for valuation purposes.
The 2,000 carat bulk sample is phase one of the Badibanga program and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of the year and the company said in a statement Wednesday that based on positive results from phase one, the second phase will consist of methodical pitting and drilling to increase confidence levels in the resource and facilitate a decision to mine.
“The initial results are extremely encouraging and have already gone a long way in confirming the reliability of the historical grade data received late in 2006. Our objective is not one of detailed resource definition but to move this project into production and generate cashflow as soon as possible,” said chief executive and president Alasdair MacPhee in the statement.
The Badibanga project is one of SouthernEra's two large alluvial diamond projects. It is located in the Kasai Oriental Province approximately 60 kilometres to the northwest of the producing Mbuji-Mayi Kimberlite diamond region.
SouthernEra said historical reports indicate that, between 1926 and 1955, the Belgian mining companies Forminiere, E.K.L. And Socieite de Miniere du Beceka mined in excess of 194 million carats from the area within and adjacent to SouthernEra's permits.
It said that the initial bulk sample programme is targeting an alluvial flats area, named Flats D-E and F within an area historically termed by Forminiere as the "Lubi-Lukula Triangle".
The company quoted Forminiere exploration reports that illustrated the presence of historical non-43-101 compliant, unmined, diamond deposits totalling 3.49 million carats within the triangle.
“This deposit is reported in a 1951 reserve table that does not report volume and grade data but instead reports on estimated carats within each alluvial flat,” SouthernEra said. “These reserves do not conform to the CIM definition standards on mineral resources and mineral reserves. Included in the technical report is a historical map showing pit sample locations with the recovered diamond grade from each pit.”
It added, “The map indicates that the average diamond grades in the alluvial flats approximate one carat per cubic metre with average grades of individual flats on the Lubi River as high as 1.7 carats per cubic metre.
“The highest individual sample pit was historically documented at 10.61 carats per cubic metre.”
The junior miner is evaluating a second alluvial project (70 percent owned Tshikapa alluvial diamond project) in conjunction with two joint partners in the DRC. SouthernEra also holds the Klipspringer Diamond Mine in South Africa and maintains an 18 percent free-carried interest in the Camafuca Diamond Project of Angola.
source:www.mineweb.net
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