Afri-Can tops up Block J stake (October 07, 2002)

With a final payment of $125,000 to its Australian partner, Woduna Mining Holding, Afri-Can Marine Minerals (AFA-V) has boosted to 70% its interest in the Block J marine diamond concession, 105 km north of Luderitz, Namibia.

Afri-Can did so under a deal that allowed it to buy 10% tranches for instalments of $125,000 each, up to a total controlling interest of 70%. Woduna’s interest has shrunk to 30%.

Afri-Can has hired Gemfarm Investments to complete a US$42,000 follow-up program on the block in mid-October. The work, aimed at exploring the Paleo-Surf zone of feature 8, will be carried out from the deck of the 1,054-tonne MV Lady-S. The vessel is equipped with a 50-tonne-per-hour dense-media-separation plant, a 1,000-tonne-per-hour, 60-cm airlift, and a powerful jetting system.

Gemfarm will collect at least eighty 10-sq.-metre samples and two 100-sq.-metre samples. The results should provide data for an inferred resource calculation and a preliminary indication of potential mining economics, as well as determine the extent and continuity of mineralization.

Last year, 338 reconnaissance samples collected from Block J by the marine division of De Beers turned up 23 diamonds totalling 4.65 carats. Four of the stones were derived from feature 8, with the largest weighing 0.64 carat. Another small sample (2.1 sq. metres) surrendered more than one stone.

Feature 8 lies beneath 125 metres of seawater and covers 11.7 sq. km. The feature includes about 2 sq. km of weakly cemented diamondiferous conglomerate.

In all, Block J covers 994 sq. km of seafloor in waters as deep as 167 metres. The block contains 17 features, eight of which tested have proved diamondiferous.

The Block J project is near a concession owned by Namibian Minerals (NMR-T).