Projects



Email 'Kwango River' item to a friend
Show printable version of 'Kwango River' item in a New Window




view enlargedclick to view enlarged

Through an Option Agreement, BRC DiamondCore controls eight Prospecting Permits ("PRs") on the Kwango River, covering an area of 2,398 square kilometres between Tembo and Kasonga Lunda, a distance of approximately 130 kilometers. The Kwango River drains the Chitamba-Lulo Kimberlite Cluster in Lunda Norte Province, Angola. Diamonds are known to occur within the active river channel as well as on flats and terraces within the river's flood plain.

Before BRC DiamondCore began exploration, the alluvial/fluvial potential of the river had never been tested using modern exploration techniques, although artisanal diggers had been exploiting the river's diamondiferous gravel deposits for decades.

In 2006 and 2007, the Company completed a reconnaissance pitting program on flats which occur within the Kwango River flood plain, with the objective of obtaining a preliminary understanding of the extent, thickness and depth of the gravel horizons which occur within the Kwango River flood plain. In addition a 3000 line kilometer Airborne EM plus Magnetics Program was completed, This targeted buried paleochannels and potholes on the most prospective flats between Tembo and Kitangu.

Parcels of diamonds from the artisinal workers in the southern PRs indicated gravels containing 85% gem-quality stones with an average size of 0.4ct worth $220/ct and with some stones larger than 2ct. In the north, a 51ct parcel of diamonds presented to the company from the Kitangu artisanal workings contained stones with an average price of $120/ct with the largest stone weighing 2.4ct. The largest stone in a 28ct parcel from the Kindamba workings weighed 0.8ct.

Based on the Airborne work described above and a Shuttle Radar Topography Mission data, the Company in 2007 compiled a five meter contour map of the entire Kwango Valley with the objective of mapping out the alluvial targets in more detail and identifying additional gravel terraces. Twenty-two gravel targets, mainly in the form of river terraces and valley flats and covering a surface area of 150 square kilometres, were identified and mapped against the Company's PRs. Geological investigation of these targets continued through 2007, during which 603 pits were dug, totalling 5,008 metres, and 104 holes were drilled to a cumulative depth of 2,283 metres. The 8 most prospective targets were covered by this first pass prospecting program. The remaining 10 alluvial targets will be investigated in 2008 by reconnaissance drilling and pitting. So far, some 12 million tons of gravel have been identified.

This work was focused primarily on the northerly PRs where the Kwango River flows into a narrow channel. The cumulative gravel volume from the 12 targets is estimated to be around 4.1 million cubic metres or approximately 8.6 million tons. The Company has designed a geological sampling plant with a 20 tonne-per-hour (tph) primary grizzly/scrubbing unit, a 5 tph Dense Media Separation Plant and an X-ray final recovery unit to treat bulk samples from the 12 targets outlined to date. The plant is expected to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2008.  

Adnet Communications Inc.