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[posting]34229918[/posting]nö, ich vertrau auf den mix news zu brasilian diamonds: Brazilian Diamonds continues big dig 2008-05-30 14:41 ET - Street Wire by Will Purcell Brazilian Diamonds Ltd. is nearing the halfway mark at its dig into the Salvador-1 kimberlite in Bahia, Brazil. The company is making good progress with what will be a bulk sample from six separate sites on the big pipe, but the processing is lagging the mining of the rock. The company is hoping for better grades than earlier small tests delivered and the company's chairman, Ken Judge, says there are encouraging signs. Shareholders will give him a loud cheer if he is right. Brazilian's shares have been sinking steadily since they hit a 90-cent high late in 2003. They now go for less than a dime. The test Mr. Judge said the third Salvador pit was nearly complete and Brazilian would be starting the fourth test shortly. The company plans to pull approximately 1,300 tonnes from each of six pits, for a cumulative test weighing about 8,000 tonnes. That should be enough rock to yield a representative diamond parcel for an initial valuation. If not, a lower grade than expected will likely kill the play. Mr. Judge thinks that at least a part of the pipe will yield a worthwhile diamond grade. He said the pits completed so far were showing Salvador-1 contains several different phases of kimberlite, and each appears to have different diamond populations. "If we can establish a higher grade of a certain phase, that is what we will be targeting for bulk testing on a larger scale," he added. Although Salvador-1 lies in one of the drier parts of Brazil, the Bahia region does experience a rainy season that normally runs from November through March. The downpours can be more than an annoyance to miners trying to dig deep holes into kimberlites, which are usually lower than the surrounding terrain. As well, the heavy mining equipment loosens the earth above the pipes and the rains turn the dirt to a thick mud. Moving about in the goop can be impossible at times, but the company got a head start on the rains and was able to dig fast enough despite the occasional flood to keep ahead of the processing. That was not a great challenge, as Mr. Judge said getting results back from the lab was going far slower than hoped. The multiple phases of kimberlite encountered are a part of the problem. As well, some of the rock is harder than expected, which is posing some crushing and liberation problems. The company needed some plant modifications to adjust for the tough kimberlite. Nevertheless, Mr. Judge said Brazilian should be able to roll out its first results in about a month. The encouragement Mr. Judge said Brazilian's grade requirement would depend on the quality of the diamonds, but as a rule of thumb, the company would consider a grade of about 0.25 carat per tonne to be "a nice sweet spot." So far, he said the quality of the Salvador-1 gems appears sufficient to support a mine with such a grade, and possibly lower than 0.2 carat per tonne. Brazilian has results from a few small tests taken from the top of its first pit. So far, 251 tonnes of rock produced 55 diamonds with a total weight of 6.96 carats. That works out to just 0.027 carat per tonne. This grade is dismal, but the average diamond weight of 0.127 carat suggests a coarse size distribution profile. The largest gem so far weighed an encouraging 2.65 carats. The company thinks it will find better grades in deeper parts of the pipe. Some of the company's early tests offered hope including a 580-kilogram test that produced a one-half carat diamond. Mr. Judge said he is optimistic that at least one-half of the kimberlite in Salvador-1 will yield a commercially economic rock value. As a result, the fate of the big pipe will come down to the individual grades of each phase, not the average result. Brazilian Diamonds closed unchanged at eight cents Thursday on 4,600 shares. |
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| aus der Diskussion: | Starvest der Mineninvestor |
| Autor (Datum des Eintrages): | XIO (04.06.08 18:33:24) |
| Beitrag: | 100 von 128 (ID:34238708) |
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