Gravity Diamonds
- Full name:
- Gravity Diamonds Limited
- Mwana interest:
- In August 2006, Mwana Africa acquired 14.99% in Gravity Diamonds which is exploring a large diamond concession in the Kasai province. Subsequent to this, the two companies announced a proposed merger, and Mwana Africa will acquire all the issued shares in Gravity. A meeting of all Gravity shareholders will be held on 26th April, and it is expected that the merger will be enacted on 21 May 2007.
- Geology and history:
- The Kasai province underlies the southern portion of the DRC and much of Angola. Over 700 kimberlites have been discovered in Angola, and a further 11 in the DRC. Hostilities in the recent civil war have hampered exploration in the DRC’s portion of the Craton, and economically diamondiferous kimberlites are expected to be discovered shortly in this poorly prospected region. MIBA’s Mbuji-Maya deposit is the only operational kimberlite mine in the DRC.
- Gravity has been active in the Kasai Craton since 2004, and through heavy mineral prospecting has highlighted four possible areas which may host diamond-bearing kimberlite deposits. Gravity holds some of these tenements in their own right, and others through a joint venture agreement with BHP Billiton, and together these total 58,881km². This land is adjacent to MIBA’s prospecting tenements. In addition to this diamond exploration, Mwana Africa has undertaken a high-level review of the base metal anomalies found on the Maniamuna ground and will co-fund a follow-up programme to investigate these results.
- Current status and prospects:
- The 2007 field season aims to better constrain these high interest areas and delineate targets for drilling. Work will consist of detailed follow-up and in-fill sampling from stream sediments that drain these anomalous areas, as well as airborne geophysical surveys to acquire magnetic data that will identify possible kimberlite intrusions. Depending on the turnaround times, drilling is expected to commence in late 2007 or early 2008.
- Gravity’s strong land position in the prolific Kasai Craton will supplement the attributable production from MIBA, and Gravity’s field exploration team reinforces Mwana’s expertise in project development and construction.
- Geological maps:
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