Dia Bras starts Banankoro diamond search

A small private placement is funding Dia Bras Exploration‘s (DIB-V) search for diamonds in Guinea.

The Montreal-based junior acquired the right to earn a 60% interest in the Banankoro permit, which covers 125 sq. km of ground considered prospective for alluvial and primary diamonds. The property was part of Trivalence Mining‘s (TMI-V) producing Aredor alluvial deposit until that company had to relinquish it as required under Guinea’s mining law.

To earn its interest, Dia Bras must pay a private Guinean company $50,000 in cash and issue 500,000 shares. Another US$1 million must be spent on exploration and development over two years.

The financing consisted of 1 million units priced at 15 apiece, for $150,000 in gross proceeds. A unit consists of a share (subject to a 12-month hold period) and a warrant that entitles the holder to buy an additional share within 18 months, at 20 apiece.

Dia Bras is pursuing a second placement of 2 million units, also priced at 15 each. Under the recent deal, a unit can be exchanged for a share and a warrant at no extra cost, with a warrant entitling the holder to an additional share within 18 months of the deal’s closing, at 20.

Dia Bras now has 8.1 million shares outstanding.

Dios fuels up for 2002

Recently created Dios Exploration (DOS-V) intends to raise more than $1 million via a public financing.

Dios began trading in early February as the diamond exploration arm of Sirios Resources (SOL-V). Since then, its shares have been devalued to about 51 from 96.

The proposed offer will consist of units priced at 55 apiece. A unit consists of a share and a warrant, with two warrants entitling the holder to buy one common share at 60 within 12 months of the deal’s closing. Of the units offered, 65% will qualify under flow-through taxation laws.

Haywood Securities is managing the placement on a best-efforts basis in exchange for a 7% commission and a volume of warrants equivalent to 10% of the total number of units sold. The firm will also be granted units in lieu of a corporate finance fee.

Proceeds are earmarked for a 1,300-sq.-km parcel of claims in the Otish Mountains area of Quebec and the Scholfield diamond project in northern Ontario. Exploration will consist of till sampling and follow-up geophysical surveys.

The offering is subject to various approvals.

Dios also owns the Wemindji and 33 Carats properties in Quebec, plus the Trans-Taiga regional database for Quebec. The assets formerly belonged to Sirios.

Wheaton River inks deal with Navigator

Wheaton River Minerals (WRM-T) has acquired a piece of the diamond action and is betting on the father-and-daughter team of Grenville and Eira Thomas of Navigator Exploration (NVR-V).

Using part of the $1.7 million it raised in flow-through funding last year, Wheaton will spend $300,000 on the Crystal diamond property, 60 km south of Lac de Gras, as part of an option to earn a 25% interest in the property. Navigator is the operator of the project and intends to begin drilling in late March or early April. Five geophysical targets have been selected for testing.

Navigator can earn an initial half-interest in the property from Tyler Resources (TYS-V) by spending $1.7 million before the end of 2002. In addition to contributing 300,000 in exploration funding, Wheaton must advance $575,000 to Navigator by mid-June 2002 in order to earn a quarter interest, which can be converted into shares of Navigator at a later date. Navigator can earn up to a 70% stake in the property by spending $5.2 million on exploration.

Canplats arranges second placement

Canplats Resources (CPQ-V) intends to issue 450,000 shares to raise $82,500 for a drill program at its Voltaire-Johnspine property in northwestern Ontario.

The private placement will consist of 300,000 flow-through shares and 150,000 common shares priced at 20 apiece. It follows a similar financing earlier this year which consisted of 900,000 shares priced at 20 apiece.

Drilling will focus on several geophysical anomalies detected during an airborne magnetometer survey. The anomalies are thought to reflect mafic-to-ultramafic intrusive bodies that may be mineralized in sulphides.

The financing has yet to be approved by regulators.

Canplats has also received approval from exchange authorities to extend the expiry date of 970,000 B-series warrants that were part of its initial public offering. The warrants can now be exchanged into shares, at 30 each, until Sept 30.

Voltaire-Johnspine is one of 14 properties being explored by Canplats in the Lake Nipigon area, north of Thunder Bay. All are considered prospective for polymetallic massive sulphide mineralization.