Namco hits a sweet spot (August 05, 2002)

Marine diamond miner Namibian Minerals (NMR-T) has set a 1-day production record, hauling up an astonishing 16,417 carats from 1.9 sq. km of Feature 22.

The parcel, which includes 54,240 stones, was recovered by the company’s Nam2 seabed crawler. The average weight per stone is 0.3 carat per stone, and the average grade per square metre is 8.8 carats.

The previous 1-day record was set in early 1999, when the NamSSol crawler hauled up 16,271 carats from Feature 19. Feature 19 lies in Luderitz Bay, whereas Feature 22 in in Hottentot Bay, to the north.

Namco recently returned NamSSol to action, having repaired the damage caused by a collapsed mining face in early 2001. The submersible is supported by the MV Kovambo and will facilitate exploration of the company’s entire 20,800 sq. km of leased seafloor.

In the first three months of the year, Namco recorded a loss of about US$8 million (or 8 per share) on revenue of US$6 million. The loss was nevertheless an improvement over the corresponding period last year, when the company fell US$12 million (26 per share) into the red on US$5 million.

Results for the second quarter are pending. Namco began the period with 17,514 carats of unsold diamonds and roughly US$1 million in cash.