Here's the second page of the technical paper, presentation is much better on the web site with lots of great pictures.
http://www.diamondfields.com/s/MarineDevelopment.asp?page=2
Advanced Sampling Program - Phase 2
Objective:
•Provide measured resource for entire Marshall Fork feature •Provide metallurgical, geotechnical, environmental and economic data for feasibility study
Methods:
De Beers Marine's mv 'Coral Sea' with sample recovery system modified to work in shallow water
Timing:
Total 5-6 weeks, mid - 1999
Details:
•Grid line sampling of approximately 230 sites and test-mining selected areas •Same sampling procedures and methods as utilized by De Beers Marine on their own property
<Picture: Show printable version of 'Advanced Sampling Program...' in a New Window>Advanced Sampling Program - Phase 3
Objective:
Confirm and upgrade Bauer drill exploration results in the Diaz Point area and systematically sample Gallovidia Reef and Boat Bay features
Methods:
De Beers Marine's mv 'Douglas Bay'
Timing:
Total 2-3 months Second half of 1999
Details:
Results oriented program using mv Douglas Bay with either proven Mega-Drill or more aggressive sampling tool
<Picture: Show printable version of 'Industry Comparison' in a New Window>Industry Comparison
Three companies (Namdeb, Namco, ODM) currently mine diamonds on a significant scale in Namibian waters.
De Beers Marine, under contract to Namdeb, operate adjacent to the mouth of the Orange River in 120-180 meters water depth producing close to 500,000 carats per year. De Beers operates with four Wirth drill equipped mining ships (including the Coral Sea which act primarily as a sampling vessel), one ship equipped with a sea floor crawler, and a supporting survey ship. The Namdeb concession can be generally characterized as expansive, relatively flat with thin sediment cover (1.0 meter), low grade (est. 0.15 carat/m.), and large, high valued stones (est 0.7 carats/stone @ US$350-400/carat). The marine operations are estimated to provide close to 50% of Namdeb's 1998 annual revenue.
Namco currently operates directly on DFI's western boundary, mining the extension of the Marshall Fork feature. The production to date has exceeded 150,000 carats in 10 months indicating the high grade of the feature. Namco operates with a single vessel equipped with a sub sea crawler. The Namco resource can be generally described as an ancient river channel, thick sediment cover (>3.0 meters), high grade (+1.0 carat/m.), with average stone size (0.35-0.40 ct/stone) and values of US$150/carat. The overlying barren sediment thickness increases further down stream in the feature.
Namibian Diamond Mining Comparison
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Company Listing Est. Annual Est. Annual Market
Production Production Cap
(cts) Value (Cdn$ m)
(US$ m)
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De Beer
Marine Namdeb N/A 480,000 300 N/A
Namco TSE/NAS/NSX 240,000 54 160
ODM JSE/NSX 80,000 20 42
DFI TSE/VSE ? ? 31
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market value as of April 15, 1999
Ocean Diamond Mining (ODM) currently operates in the Halifax Island concession immediately adjacent to DFI's southern boundary. ODM production has been approximately 60,000 carats per year. ODM operates one sampling and two production vessels equipped with airlifts. The ODM Halifax deposits can be generally characterized as a basin feature of moderate size, thin sediment cover (<1.5 meters est.), average grades (0.5 cts/sq. meters), and good stone size and value (0.40 ct/stone with US$165/carat value). ODM with the recent deployment of their second mining vessel is expected to increase production to 100,000 carats per year.
DFI believes its Luderitz concession has the best attributes of each of the producing companies.
As evidenced by the Phase 1 sample results and Namco's production levels on the same feature, DFI believes the Marshall Fork feature represents a high grade (>1.0 carat/sq.m.), high profit potential deposit. Phase 2 of the sampling program will be undertaken to estimate the grade for the entire feature. Area mining rates and resulting diamond production should be higher using proven equipment, given the thinner sediment cover.
The Reef Edge and Elephant Basin features in the Diaz Point area lie adjacent to ODM's active mining area. The previous sampling program indicated a resource of over 3.0 km. containing 0.12 carats per square meter. This portion of DFI's area is several times larger that the ODM deposit areas. The DFI phase 3 program is designed to resample a portion of these areas in anticipation that the grades are 4-5 times higher than previously estimated and in line with the estimated ODM grades. Accordingly with successful results from Phase 3, the features have the potential to support operation exceeding that of ODM.
Finally, the DFI property has the overall size and additional resource potential to possibly support a multifaceted operation producing hundreds of thousands of carats per year similar in scope and size to Namdeb's operation. DFI's Phase 3 program will examine the Gallovidia Reef feature and the Boat Bay gravels in order to outline the resource for these areas.
DFI will look to explore, develop and mine the overall deposit to provide value for its shareholders, employees and the Republic of Namibia.
The Luderitz potential is expected to be demonstrated by the end of the Phase 3 program. A total resource estimate in excess of 15 million carats is possible. The Marshall Fork, Diaz Point and Gallovidia Reef type features are being profitably mined by other companies. The Boat Bay gravels with expensive known gravel horizons in shallow waters could be mined by large scale low unit cost trailing suction hopper dredges (TSHD).
Accordingly, the potential exists for production rates at hundreds of thousands of carats for an extended mine life.
DFI became publicly listed on January 14, 1999 and trades on the Toronto and Vancouver Stock Exchanges under the symbol "DFI". The Company has 51,244,809 shares issued and outstanding and 52,947,309 fully diluted shares. As of April 15, 1999 DFI's cash position is Cdn$9 million with no long-term debt.
The Luderitz "Potential"
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Resource Feature Target Target Target
Grade Resource Production
(cts/sq.m) (carats 000) (cts/year)
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Marshall Fork 1.1 1,400 380,000
Diaz point 0.6 3,000 240,000
Gallovidia Reef 0.5 3,000 200,000
Boat Bay Gravels 0.2 13,000 350,000
Shallow Water n/a 1,000 6,000
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Total 21,400
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DFI targeted goals for grade based on known feature sizes |
