Looking to buy their own boat, Diamond Fields International (DFI-T) has be given the go ahead for debt financing of up to US$15 million from Overseas Private Investment Corp., a U.S. governmental agency.
DFI has a letter of commitment from the agency allowing it to immediately acquire the first of two planned vessels. The financing is expected to close before mid-August.
The vessel will be refitted and converted into a dual 24-inch airlift mining vessel in Cape Town, South Africa. The ship will then patrol the company’s Namibian marine diamond concessions not included in its joint venture with Trans Hex Group. The ship is expected to set sail in March or April of next year.
DFI and partner South African-based Trans Hex Group recently pulled up a 17-carat diamond off the coast of Namibia, near the town of Luderitz.
The stone was derived from the Marshall Fork geological feature, and is reportedly the largest ever picked from the seabed in that particular region.
Between May 2001, when mining began, and March 31 of this year, the pair mined 26,800 carats from the Marshall Fork structure. The stones averaged 0.33 carat in weight.
The partners’ joint venture area covers 0.5% of Diamond Fields’ Mining Licence 111, which covers 70 km of coastal waters between Hottentot Point to the north and Diaz Point to the south, centred at Luderitz. The area includes the Marshall Fork feature and the Diaz 12 zone of the Diaz Reef feature.
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