DIAMOND PAGE — Namco ups ocean diamond output

The return of an ocean-going production vessel to the Luderitz Bay diamond concession, off the coast of Namibia, has increased recovery rates for Namibian Minerals (NMR-T).

The MV Kovambo returned to the concession to join operations already in progress. The company recovered 7,000 diamonds at the Koichab prospect in the first three weeks of April. The stones, 95% of which are of gem quality, had an average weight of 0.36 carat; the largest stone weighed in at 10.13 carats.

A previously mined package of 3,859 carats was recently valued at US$598,653.

Namco recovers diamonds with a remotely operated sea-floor crawler, NamSSol, which employs suction to mine thin layers of sediment at depths of up to 150 metres.

The company has also struck a marketing deal with IDC Holdings, a firm with offices in London and Antwerp. The firm will re-grade and evaluate Namco’s diamonds for sale on the international market.

For the nine months ended Feb. 28, 1998, Namco posted a loss of US$5.2 million (or 14cents per share) on income of US$1 million. The loss includes a write-off of US$2.6 million in exploration expenditures in Angola; the company concluded that its prospect there was uneconomic.

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