|
Property |
Location |
Deposit Type |
Interest |
Status |
|
Duas Barras |
Brazil |
Alluvial Deposit |
100% |
Brazil’s newest diamond mine commenced
commercial production in September 2007. |
Duas Barras Diamond Mine
Vaaldiam holds 100% interest in the Duas Barras diamond
property, situated 150 kilometres north of the historic town
of Diamantina in the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil. This
diamond district was the world’s largest diamond producing
area prior to 1870. The 7,000 hectare Duas Barras property
encompasses a 5 kilometre portion of the Jequitinhonha
River. The diamonds produced from alluvial gravels along the
Jequitinhonha River are predominantly gem-quality cuttable
goods.
-
Vaaldiam acquired the property in 2005 and completed a drilling and bulk sampling study in 2007
-
Commercial production commenced in
September 2007.
-
Diamond valuation on the first parcel
sale was US$172 per carat.
-
Production during 2007 was
approximately 24,000 carats increasing to 60,000 carats
in 2008.
-
The capital cost to put Duas Barras
into production was $3.8 million
-
Life of mine is 8 years based on a
resource of 432,000 carats
Diamond and Gold Resources and Sales
The following table provides an unaudited summary of the
gross revenues and estimated direct operating costs (net of
estimated gold proceeds) for the sales period based on the
sale of the diamond parcel, and the projected sale of the
gold concentrate at current market prices.
|
Average
Recovered Diamond Grade for the Sales Period |
0.24 |
ct / bcm |
|
Average
Recovered Gold Grade for the Sales Period |
0.33 |
gm / bcm |
|
Sales Value
Diamonds US$ |
$ 164.16 |
per carat |
|
Projected
Sales Value Gold US$ 1 |
$ 26.28 |
per gram |
|
Value per
bcm Gravel Processed (diamonds only) US$ |
$ 39.75 |
per bcm |
|
Estimated
Value per bcm Gravel Processed (gold only) US$ |
$ 8.77 |
per bcm |
|
Estimated
Ore Value Diamonds + Gold (US$) |
$ 48.52 |
per bcm |
|
Estimated
Operating Cost per Carat Produced Net of Estimated
Gold Proceeds US$ 2 |
$ 52.93 |
per carat |
|
Estimated
Operating Margin per Carat US$ |
$111.23 |
per carat |
1. Gold sales price estimated at US$845
per troy ounce.
2. Estimated direct operating costs for the sales period not
including amortization.
Total production during 2007, including
production recovered during the commissioning of the
processing plant, amounted to 93,225 diamonds totalling
23,960.16 carats and 22.63 kilograms (727.58 troy ounces) of
gold from 118,461.96 bcm of gravel. The following table
provides a monthly summary of the diamond and gold
production at Duas Barras since start up to December 31,
2007.
|
Month |
Ore Volume
(bcm) |
Diamonds
Recovered |
Total Weight
(carats) |
Average
Stone Size (cts) |
Recovered
Diamond
Grade
(cts/bcm) |
Gold
Recovered
(kilograms) |
|
May |
91.00 |
313 |
54.67 |
0.17 |
0.60 |
Not Recovered |
|
June |
1,037.46 |
2,556 |
447.73 |
0.18 |
0.43 |
Not Recovered |
|
July |
4,014.09 |
6,610 |
1,240.33 |
0.19 |
0.31 |
0.85 |
|
August |
15,644.38 |
10,197 |
3,161.81 |
0.31 |
0.20 |
4.99 |
|
September |
22,837.82 |
15,139 |
4,303.78 |
0.28 |
0.19 |
5.90 |
|
October |
24,243.96 |
19,366 |
5,081.96 |
0.26 |
0.21 |
4.34 |
|
November |
25,835.70 |
22,207 |
5,770.75 |
0.26 |
0.22 |
3.55 |
|
December |
24,757.45 |
16,837 |
3,899.13 |
0.23 |
0.16 |
3.00 |
|
Totals |
118,461.86 |
93,225 |
23,960.16 |
0.26 |
0.20 |
22.63 |
* Production for May, June & July
reflects production using a bottom screen of 1.4 mm square
mesh, which was changed to a 2.0 mm square mesh bottom
screen in late July resulting in a decrease in recovered
grade and a corresponding increase production and in the
average stone size of the diamonds during the subsequent
months. Commercial production commenced on September 1,
2007.
Based on Vaaldiam’s preliminary projections, mining and
processing of 240,000 cubic metres of gravel per year will
result in the production of approximately 50,000 carats of
diamonds annually. At an average sales value of US$200 per
carat, the production will generate an estimated
US$7,680,000 in annual gross revenue representing net after
tax revenues of US$4,000,000 per annum.
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