DIAMOND PAGE — Namco increases sea-floor resource

A consulting firm has raised its estimate of the sea-floor diamond resource of Namco (NMR-T) by almost 8%.

Namco is working on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, off the coast of Namibia. The company’s resource there is now estimated at 2.6 million carats, up from 2.4 million.

Exploration is currently focused on the 3.1-sq.-km Feature 022 within the Hottentot Bay grant. A total of 29 samples have been taken, of which 55% recorded a positive result. Of those, 69% contained multiple diamonds; one sample contained 35 diamonds. Altogether, the company has recovered 83 stones weighing 17.34 carats. To speed up the program, the size of each sample has been reduced to 5 from 10 sq. metres.