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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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