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I have been singularly unsuccessful trying to call Carson Gold to see when they are going to be "un-halted". Anybody out there got any info on this?
There hasn't been any thing out of them since their trading halt until yesterday. For those who haven't seen it, here's the news release;
CARSON TO BECOME WORLD PLAYER IN DIAMOND INDUSTRY CARSON ACQUIRES MAJOR DIAMOND
CONCESSIONS IN AFRICA
VANCOUVER, June 27 /CNW/ - Eric V. Friedland, Chairman and CEO
of Carson Gold Corp. (``Carson''), is pleased to announce additional
diamond project acquisitions for the Company as part of the strategic
development of Carson.
Carson will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of
Branch Energy Limited (``Branch''), a corporation incorporated under
the laws of the Isle of Man which is at arm's length to the Company.
Branch holds important interests in the projects as described below.
Carson, upon closing, will acquire a 100% interest in Branch by the
issuance of 33 million shares of Carson to the shareholders of
Branch, who will have the right to appoint two nominees to the new
nine member Board of Directors of Carson.
These diamond acquisitions, in conjunction with the proposed
acquisition of the Changma Diamond Mine, as announced March 12, 1996,
will transform the Company into a significant, internationally
recognized producer, developer and marketer of diamonds of the
highest quality. The Changma Diamond Mine, which is currently in
operation, and the associated diamondiferous kimberlite pipes are
located in Shandong Province, People's Republic of China.
Branch's assets are located in The People's Republic of Angola
and the Republic of Sierra Leone, two African countries renowned for
their quality gemstone diamonds. These acquisitions, outlined below,
will place the Company at the forefront of the diamond industry.
Carson will be the operator for all of the projects.
THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF ANGOLA
-------------------------------
PROJECT CARSON'S TOTAL PROJECT STAGE TYPE
INTEREST RESOURCE
(%) (carats)
--------------------------------------------------------------
Project Luo
Camatchia Pipe 74% 6,500,000 ct Exploration Kimberlite
Camagico Pipe 74% 2,430,000 ct Exploration Kimberlite
Alluvials 74% 804,000 ct Exploration Alluvials
Carambala Pipe 74% To be determined Exploration Kimberlite
Lunhinga 1 Pipe 74% To be determined Exploration Kimberlite
Lunhinga 2 Pipe 74% To be determined Exploration Kimberlite
Project Luarica 60% 471,000 ct Exploration Alluvials
REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE
------------------------
PROJECT CARSON'S TOTAL PROJECT STAGE TYPE
INTEREST RESOURCE
(%) (carats)
----------------------------------------------------------------
Njei-Bafi 50% 46,300 ct Production Alluvials
Upper Sewa 100% To be determined Exploration Alluvials
Middle Sewa 100% To be determined Exploration Alluvials
Matemu 100% To be determined Exploration Alluvials/
Hard Rock
Kono Area 7 100% 19,000 ct Production Alluvials
CURRENT PROJECT RESOURCES TOTAL 10.27 MILLION CARATS AND ALL
PROJECTS ARE OPEN TO EXPANSION.
In addition, Branch is currently in negotiations with a number
of parties with a view to acquiring further diamond concessions in
Angola, Sierra Leone as well as other countries in Africa.
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF ANGOLA
---------------------------
Angola is considered by the diamond industry to contain some of
the largest and richest diamond resources in the world. Although
alluvial production of diamonds started in Angola in the 1920s, the
exploration for and exploitation of kimberlitic sources did not start
until the 1970s. These efforts were interrupted due to civil war,
which has now come to a peaceful end. Like so many other African
countries, the political events of the past 30 years have restricted
modern exploration and development in Angola. This is changing
rapidly. With modern exploration and evaluation techniques, and with
political stability, Angola is poised to become a significant diamond
producer. The development of the mineral industry as part of the
reconstruction of its national infrastructure will be a prime factor
in the economic growth of the country. Carson will be among the
first of the diamond companies to establish operations in Angola.
The acquisition of the high quality hard rock and alluvial projects
confirms the Company's entry into one of the world's great diamond
producing regions.
PROJECT LUO
Project Luo consists of a concession covering an area of 156
square kilometres around the town of Luo, approximately 70 kilometres
to the northwest of Saurimo in the highly prolific diamond province
of Lunda Norte in northeast Angola. The concession includes five
known diamondiferous kimberlite pipes and associated alluvial diamond
deposits. These are Camatchia, Camagico, Carambala, Lunhinga 1 and
Lunhinga 2.
THE CAMATCHIA PIPES AND ALLUVIALS
The Camatchia kimberlite pipe has not been explored since the
early 1970s. The early exploration consisted of more than 100
shallow pits and core drilling on 50 metre centers. Diamang, the
former consortium of De Beers and the Angolan Government Diamond
Mining Company which operated until the onset of the civil war in
1979, calculated a resource of over 6.5 million carats to a depth of
165 metres. This resource is open at depth. The kimberlite pipe is
roughly circular in shape with a diameter of 650 metres. Early
estimates indicated that approximately 50% of the diamonds are of gem
quality. The former Diamang diamond processing plant is situated 2
kilometres southeast of the kimberlite pipe. The associated
diamondiferous alluvials are high grade, with grades over 1.58 carats
per cubic metre, and will be developed in conjunction with a major
drilling program on the pipes.
THE CAMAGICO PIPE AND ALLUVIALS
This pipe is located on the south bank of the Luo River,
approximately 2 kilometres south of Luo and 1 kilometre southwest of
the Diamang processing plant. The pipe was drilled in 1972 by the
Diamang consortium and the results indicated that solid kimberlite
occurs at an average depth of 80 metres below the surface. The holes
were drilled to a depth of 100 metres. The kimberlite is lenticular
in plan, approximately 1,000 metres long on its northeast strike, by
400 metres wide. The present estimated resource down to 100 metres
is approximately 1.5 million cubic metres containing over 2.4 million
carats and the deposit is open at depth. The overlying gravel
resource contains a further 603,000 cubic metres containing 770,000
carats.
LUNHINGA 1, LUNHINGA 2 AND CARAMBALA PIPES At this time, little is known of these pipes although all
warrant an immediate aggressive exploration program.
PROJECT LUARICA
The Luarica concession is centered on the area of Luarica, some
30 kilometres northeast of Lucapa in the highly prolific Lunda Norte
diamond district.
The concession covers an area of 450 square kilometres, and
straddles the Chiumbe River. The alluvial deposits on the concession
were last evaluated in 1979 by Diamang. They are known to contain
economic quantities of diamonds and are, as viewed by Endiama, the
Angolan state ming company, in one of the richest alluvial areas in
the country.
Although the secondary diamondiferous deposits of Luarica were
last mined in 1984, very limited information is presently available.
A total of 26 separate blocks of diamondiferous gravels up to 1
kilometre apart have been identified. In 1985, Diamang calculated
the diamond resource in 20 of these blocks as totaling 471,020
carats, which are open to further expansion.
Upon closing, Carson will control over 9.4 million carats in
Angola and the Company anticipates making additional acquisitions in
the country as the current diamond development program matures.
REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE
------------------------
The West African state of Sierra Leone was first colonized by
the British in 1787. The recent election, which was observed by the
U.N., was successful and Ahmad Tejan Kabbah was elected president.
Freetown, the capital, has recently been receiving media attention as
the staging ground for Liberian relief efforts. Sierra Leone's
economy is centered on diamond exports, fishing and agriculture. Any
new mining development will be important to the country's overall
economy.
NJEI-BAFI
The Njei Bafi project consists of 12 renewable artisinal mining
licenses, and lies adjacent to the confluence of Njei and Bafi rivers
in the Kono district of Sierra Leone. The current resource is
estimated at 0.6 carats per cubic metre for a total of 46,300 carats.
UPPER AND MIDDLE SEWA
The Upper Sewa concession covers 17.1 square kilometres and
straddles the Sewa River. The Middle Sewa project also straddles the
river and covers 12.3 square kilometres. The Sewa river drains a
major portion of the Yengema diamond field in which over 23 million
carats have been produced. Both concessions are favorable for the
recovery of diamonds and initial alluvial mining plans have been
developed.
AREA 7
This 93 hectare concession lies approximately 4 kilometres
northeast of the town of Sefadu in the Kono District. Although a
portion of the alluvials have been processed, these previous
operations were inefficient and some of these areas can be
re-processed using modern technology. In addition, alluvial
production can likely be achieved from the unworked areas as well.
MATEMU
The Matemu concession covers approximately 65 square kilometres,
located midway between the towns of Bo and Kenema. Alluvial
concentrations and kimberlites are the exploration targets.
CLOSING
Carson has agreed to contribute US $350,000 per month towards
all direct exploration, development and mining costs on the Branch
properties prior to closing. If closing should not occur, for any
reason, Carson will be reimbursed all funds advanced. Branch is
spending over US $700,000 per month on the properties. This amount
is anticipated to increase significantly over the balance of this
year as various properties are advanced towards production.
Closing is subject to satisfactory due diligence by Carson, an
independent valuation and engineering report, regulatory and
shareholder approval and completion of the financing described below.
THE FINANCING
As a condition to completion of the acquisition of Branch,
Carson has agreed to a private placement of up to five million shares
of Carson at a price of CDN $1.35 per share, resulting in gross
proceeds of $6,750,000 to treasury. The proceeds of this financing
are necessary for the immediate development of the projects described
above and for working capital. The approximately CDN $12 million
that currently exists in the Carson treasury has previously been
committed to the accelerated development of the Changma Diamond Mine
and associated diamondiferous kimberlite pipes in Shandong Province,
The People's Republic of China. This financing is subject to
regulatory approval.
The company will be calling an extraordinary general meeting to
be held on or about August 27, 1996 to approve the proposed
acquisitions of China Diamonds Corp., the non-cash assets of Yunnan
Mining Inc., and Branch Energy Limited. The related information
circular will be mailed out to shareholders in late July.
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