Tawa Share Discussion Threads

[ianwc] 31/5/2005 16:22

has the share price bottomed out at 90 cents? Jury is still out on that one...

[ianwc] 13/5/2005 13:33

Tawana Resources Is Moving Fast Towards Initial Cash Flow From Diamond Projects In South Africa.

Messrs Manfred Marx and Leon Daniels, managing director and exploration director of Australian listed Tawana Resources, were in London about a month ago. Among other things they were doing a bit of homework on the advisability of listing the company on AIM as most if its assets are now in Africa. They were not in a hurry, but those in the diamond exploration business know all too well that fatal mistakes can be made when decision are hurried. And they have both been involved with diamonds almost since birth. Wolf graduated in geology at Cape Town University back in 1969 and worked with De Beers in Botswana, Angola, Zimbabwe and Australia. He then joined Freeport McMoran and discovered the Bow River alluvial which he took through development.

Leon Daniels lives Botswana and started as a prospector for Arena Mining in South Africa during the 1970's discovering his first kimberlite pipe at the age of 21years. In late 1980 he joined Falconbridge when the company conducted its diamond exploration campaign in Botswana. Later he joined TransHex to evaluate and subsequently develop the Dokolwaya kimberlite pipe in Swaziland. He also worked as chief geologist for Roan Selection Trust International, mining alluvial diamonds in the Cuango Basin in Angola. These very brief resumes show that there are not many diamond exploration companies around with executive directors so well experienced in the vagaries of both alluvial and kimberlite diamond projects..

That is what Tawana Resources does. On its website the company describes itself as evaluating diamondiferous kimberlites and alluvials in Australia and South Africa to increase cashflow in the short term and expand the diamond resource base. It was only two years ago that the company really got going and Wolf Marx claims that Tawana now has a portfolio that is the "most exciting that I have been involved with in my 30 year career in diamond exploration, evaluation and production." A look at the South African projects bears this out as they are in the same part of the Kimberley region as the Finsch mine owned by De Beers which is one of the biggest in the world. Kimberlites rarely come singley, but the calcrete capping in the district hindered exploration until BHP Billiton flew its Falcon® airborne gravity gradiometer technology over it and came up with some gravity anomalies in 2001.

A year later Tawana was invited to run an exploration programme and drilling is starting on an anomaly where Tawana found 10 diamonds weighing just over 1 carat in overlying gravels. Two other targets will be drilled this year, all very close to Finsch, and it is worth noting that previous drilling by Tawana recovered kimberlitic garnets from percussion drill chips. The company has a 30 per cent interest in this project whereas it has full ownership of the Tawana alluvial diamond project downstream from Fisch where BHP Billiton simply has a 2.5 per cent royalty. A wide diameter Bauer drill programme started on the Feeder Channel towards the end of last year and small diamonds were recovered from all areas tested. Moreover diamonds were also recovered from a Falcon® kimberlite target pothole filled to at least 70 metres with diamond bearing gravels. It will be drill tested for a deeper kimberlite this quarter and the question to be answered is whether the pothole was formed by a kimberlite or by large scale subsidence.

In the northern section of the Feeder Channel there were more potholes where increasing grade was reported as drilling progressed downstream. Bauer drilling also took place in the Eastern Gravels which includes two palaeo- channels considered to be ideal trapsites for diamonds. Processing of the samples from both channels will continue in the current quarter and diamonds have been found in all those already tested from the Eastern Gravels. The treatment plant is now running at around 350 tonnes/day and the results should provide the geological and economic parameters for designing a bulk sampling programme in the second half of 2005.

The company also owns the Perdevlei and Kareevlei Wes kimberlite projects which are just outside the area of the BHP Billiton jv. Two of the kimberlites at Kareevlei are diamondiferous and a DMS test plant is being constructed. The results will provide the basis for a pre-feasibility study. The two kimberlites at Perdevlei are also diamondiferous and TransHex has an option to acquire 35 per cent of the project 6 months after a decision to mine is made as well as having a 5 per cent royalty. A pre-feasibility study will be carried out on the first pipe later this year and they could be mined at the same time as they are only 25 kms apart. Before moving on to the Australian projects it is worth noting that a Black Empowerment Agreement is due to be signed with a proper company, Seven Falls, which is paying real money for 26 per cent of the South African projects and is forming a jv with Tawana. .

In Australia the company owns 100 per cent of the Timber Creek diamond project in the Northern Terrritory where 5 kimberlites were discovered by De Beers in 2002. The cluster of pipes includes a small outcropping pipe , diamonds from which are comparable to Argyle in terms of high grades, modest diamond values and coloured stones. Grade increases at depth and the diamonds recovered from bulk samples will be valued once they have been processed to remove surface contaminants. At Flinders Island Tawana has an 80 per cent interest and is operator. So far a lot of kimberlitic indicator minerals have been found and analysis of samples is continuing. Encouragingly the mineral chemistry at the Eyre Peninsular diamond project, which is subject to similar ownership, shows that it is similar to that at Flinders Island.

Tawana is a busy company and a substantial newsflow can be expected this year. The South African projects could move ahead towards production and initial cash flow quite fast and the Seolo diamond project in Botswana should not be overlooked as it lies on a corridor of kimberlites stretching from De Beers' Orapa diamond mine in the west to diamondiferous kimberlites in South Africa and Zimbabwe in the east. So far kimberlitic indicator minerals have been recovered over targets and are being analysed, so it is early days.

[ianwc] 05/5/2005 14:56

lol. I am more interested in the Daniel alluvials myself mark.

[marksp] 05/5/2005 14:44

They are exploring on Flinders Island
If they find anything, the WWF might let them out of court some time in the 22nd century. you would have more luck using the Grand Canyon as a garbage tip

[ianwc] 05/5/2005 13:55

well this sucks, now that html is not allowed on advfn, i can't put up any usefull info.