Shares in marine diamond miner Diamond Fields International (DFI-T) dove 15, or 25%, to 45 in early trading in Toronto on Jan. 26 after the company said it had suspended mining operations of the coast of Namibia.
DFI and its partners Gemfarm, the owner and operator of marine mining vessel M.V. Anya and Lazig Ltd. say that operating costs have become prohibitive thanks to a strengthening South African rand.
Says DFI’s operations director Roger Daniel: “We believe it is prudent to suspend current mining operations while we work with Lazig and others to explore cost-effective production options including new technology.”
The M.V. Anya had just resumed mining in late September following a longer-than-expected delay in changing the ship’s flag state and classification following its sale. Between then and mid-November, DFI recovered 5,394 carats of diamonds from the Marshall Fork deposit off the coast of Luderitz. The average recovery was 3.1 carats per sq. metre, which exceeded projections in Agra Simons’ feasibility report prepared in 2001. The bulk of the stones are gem quality.
During the mining hiatus DFI will look at alternative production options, and plans a program of sampling aimed at expanding the million-carat diamond resources contained in the 716-sq.-km license area.
During December and January, the company sold 6,292 carats at an average price of US$145.82 per carat.
DFI’s main Namibian concession covers more than 70 km of coastal waters between Hottentot Point to the north and Diaz Point to the south, centred at Luderitz. Within that area are the diamondiferous Marshall Fork, Diaz Reef and Conical Beach features.
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