Technical Report: Niewejaarskraal Alluvial Diamond Property February 2009 |
The Niewejaarskraal project is located on the south bank of the Middle Orange River in the Herbert district of the Northern Cape Province, approximately 57km southwest of Douglas, South Africa. This deposit comprises an extensive flat lying alluvial sequence located on terraces, approximately 20-70m above the present day Orange River.
The previous operator, TransHex (THO), had conducted trial-mining in 2001 and full-scale operations from 2002 until 2005, after which, the mine was put on care and maintenance.
An estimated inferred mineral resource* of 20,630,500 cubic metres (m3) at a grade of 0.84 carats/100 m3 was updated February 28, 2009.
During 2008, Rockwell re-evaluated the resource data for Niewejaarskraal, based on group standard operating procedures. Work by Rockwell on the neighboring Saxendrift Mine resulted in increased diamond recoveries and it is, similarly, expected that the same improvements in diamond recovery will be applied to the Niewerjaarskraal operation and result in increased grades. However, until a sufficiently large volume of gravel has been processed by Rockwell, the existing THO grades of 0.84ct/100m3 will apply.
*Dr. Tania R. Marshall, Pr.Sci.Nat. was the qualified person responsible for the updated resource estimate
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