MAY 3, 1999
Dia Met Minerals and Ashton Mining Announce Mauritanian
Exploration Joint Venture
KELOWNA, BRITISH COLUMBIA--Dia Met Minerals Ltd. and Ashton Mining
Limited are pleased to announce the formation of a joint venture
to discover and develop diamond deposits in the west African
country of Mauritania. This region contains the extensive Archaean
Reguibat Shield, believed to have excellent potential for the
discovery of kimberlitic diamond deposits. Last year, Ashton
discovered the country's first kimberlites and diamonds.
The Joint Venture, between Dia Met Minerals (Africa) Ltd., a
wholly-owned subsidiary of Dia Met Minerals Ltd. of Canada, and
Ashton West Africa Pty Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of
Ashton Mining Limited of Australia, includes some 214,000 square
kilometres (53 million acres) of diamond exploration permits. A
further 20,000 square kilometres are under application.
Dia Met's President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. James Eccott,
said: "The two companies have been involved in a collaborative
exploration venture in Finland for over a year. With the
Mauritania agreement Dia Met and Ashton can exploit their combined
strengths and expertise in diamond exploration in virgin Archaean
terrain, on a land package larger than the entire Slave craton in
Canada. Ashton's work has demonstrated that the project has
excellent potential for diamond discovery."
Ashton initiated exploration for diamonds in Mauritania in 1995,
and very quickly identified kimberlite indicator minerals with
diamond inclusion chemistry in the Reguibat Shield area. Such
minerals are commonly associated with significant economic diamond
deposits in southern Africa, Canada and Russia, and a number of
exploration permits were acquired to cover the most prospective
areas.
In subsequent programs Ashton has flown several airborne
geophysical surveys in the areas where the most promising
indicator mineral results were obtained. Ashton has identified
other prospective areas that have also now been secured under
licence. In one licence, a kimberlite cluster has been found along
with small diamonds and abundant kimberlite indicator minerals
with the sought after diamond inclusion field compositions. In
other areas, the spread of indicator minerals, including diamonds,
suggest additional kimberlite clusters remain to be found and
work is currently in progress in these areas.
Ashton's Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Doug Bailey, said: "Ashton
is very pleased with this new joint venture. It confirms Ashton's
strategy of sharing exploration risk and funding with like-minded,
high-quality companies such as Dia Met. The joint venture brings
together the considerable exploration skills of both companies and
provides the financial resources necessary to explore for,
discover and evaluate economic diamond deposits in the vast areas
covered by this joint venture in one of the last remaining
Archaean cratons to be explored for diamond deposits."
Under the terms of the agreement, Dia Met will commit to
exploration expenditures of at least US$2.5 million by 31 March
2000, and may acquire up to 49 per cent of Ashton's equity in the
project by staged expenditure of up to US$10 million by March
2003. The Mauritanian Government has a 10 per cent equity interest
in some tenements included in the joint venture. Ashton is the
operator of the project, but Dia Met will have the controlling
vote on programs and budgets as long as Dia Met alone is funding
exploration and development.
I hope they don't beat REX to the motherlode! |
