RNS Number:3867T
African Diamonds PLC
17 December 2003
AFRICAN DIAMONDS PLC
Preliminary results for year ended
30 June 2003
Timing is everything. As I sat down to write this statement, I received a phone
call from the Kalahari desert in Botswana. The type of phone call every explorer
likes to receive. We had found a diamond. Onsite analysis of one of the drill
holes on our BK10 kimberlite pipe on our Orapa licence had recovered a diamond.
Not large, 0.11 carat, but good quality. It is almost impossible to overstate
the importance of this discovery.
Finding diamonds is like finding a needle in a field of hay, not a haystack. As
luck would have it, as we were preparing the final draft of this statement, I
got word of a second discovery. A white 0.14 carat high quality stone found in
drill hole number 7 on BK10. Futher analysis revealed this stone to be a
fragment of a larger diamond yet to be recovered.
These small pieces of two thousand million year old carbon may transform our
company. They are unlikely to exist in isolation. We have more drill samples to
analyse on site, over 100 tons, then we ship the concentrate to South Africa for
detailed x-ray diamond equipment analysis. We estimate that a viable small
diamond mine on the Orapa licence requires 10 carats per hundred tons of rock.
That is, we can commercially mine 100 tons of rock to recover 2 grams, or 1/15
of an oz of gem quality diamonds.
The discovery of our first diamond from hard rock drilling is only one in a
series of important events impacting on our company. Over the coming months I
expect to report on a series of activities any or all of which can have a
favourable impact. In summary these events are:
In Botswana;
- further drilling results from Orapa,
- detailed results from the Serowe alluvial drilling,
- developments on our brand new 999 km sq Orapa licence,
- additional high quality prospecting licences,
- listing on the Botswana Stock Exchange.
In Sierra Leone;
- the start up of our pilot plant on the Pipe 3 kimberlite in Koidu,
- results from our kimberlite dyke sampling on our prospecting licences.
In Lesotho;
- commissioning of our 55 percent owned pilot plant at Kolo.
In Guinea;
- results from structured pit sampling on our three alluvial licences. To date
20 diamonds weighing 13.60 carats have been recovered.
We established the company in 2001 with a clear mission - to become a gem
quality diamond miner within 3 years. Success in exploration requires four
ingredients - good ground, good people, money and good luck. Africa was, and is,
the home of diamonds. In Africa, Botswana and Sierra Leone together, are the
main source of gem quality large carat diamonds. Within these countries, two
areas stand out a mile - Orapa in Botswana and Koidu in Sierra Leone. We were
fortunate to be offered quality licences in both Orapa and Koidu. With this
ground came highly experienced people, men who are now substantial shareholders
in African Diamonds. In Botswana, we have Leon Daniels and Mark Scowcroft. Each
vastly experienced in the country. Similarly in Sierra Leone, Jim MacGregor and
Alieu Mahdi, each with decades of experience, oversee operations.
Money came initially from loyal investors who have supported us through the lean
years in resource shares and, latterly, from our listing on the AIM market in
London. All business ventures require luck, none more so than exploration. To
date, things have gone well.
The Review of Operations below gives details on the many projects currently
underway. I can only give a flavour of our activities in this report. Our
activities in the Orapa area of Botswana deserve particular attention. We are
now one of the largest ground holders in the area. As De Beers have been forced
to give up ground, we have moved in. We have already identified numerous
kimberlite pipes and we believe that the new licence covering 999 sq kms holds
more undiscovered pipes. Work on our Serowe licence is fascinating, high
potential and high risk. The Orapa kimberlite field is 90 million years old.
Over the years erosion has taken away up to 100 metres of the pipes. No one has
yet discovered where the eroded material has gone. Leon Daniels believes that
the drainage, for at least part of the 90 million years, was in rivers flowing
South East, an area now covered by the 2 million year old Kalahari desert. Using
Landsat imagery, geophysical techniques and by drilling 42 holes, we are looking
for an ancient dry river channel. We believe we have found it and we are
currently analysing samples from the old riverbed to identify their origin. The
next step is to drill around the dolerite dykes, which cross our ground looking
for plunge pools, which may contain diamonds. If we are lucky, that word again,
we may find large gem quality diamonds.
It may be hard to believe that the further diamonds travel in a river, the
bigger and better they get - flawed diamonds are brittle and fracture. In recent
days we have received further support for our exploration model on Serowe. In
South Africa, a similar exploration effort to find alluvial diamonds in long
lost riverbeds, found a 0.36 carat gem quality diamond. Our extensive quality
ground in Botswana is attracting interest from potential partners. I hope to be
able to announce something in the coming months. Pipe 3 in Koidu, Sierra Leone,
may be our first mine. This highly sought after ground is adjacent to the new
Diamondsworks mine on Pipes 1 and 2, which was commissioned in December 2003. We
have dewatered the pipe, prepared foundations and ramps and we are refurbishing
a plant for commissioning on site in early 2004. We will run a bulk sample of
5,000 tons of material. The pipe was never commercially mined but there have
been extensive artisan workings. Anecdotal evidence suggests that the 970 carat
Star of Sierra Leone was found in the area. Assuming we recover commercial
grades of diamonds, we will immediately apply for a mining licence. Our work on
the kimberlite dykes on the licences surrounding Pipe 3 is producing excellent
results. Seven dyke zones have been mapped over a total of 11,119 metres.
Mapping will be completed in the coming months and will be followed by a
bulk-sampling program. Work done in the 1960's by the Sierra Leone National
Diamond Corporation found all of the dykes contained diamonds at grades which
are commercial at 2003 prices. The Kolo project in Lesotho is a question of
being in the right place at the right time. Reserves on the Kolo property are
estimated at 342,000 carats of good quality large stones. The concession holder
was unable to complete construction of a 40 ton per hour capacity mine. We
agreed to refurbish and commission the project for a 55% interest. We await
Lesotho state approval before undertaking the work, which should take only 8
weeks to complete. We will process 30,000 tons with the expectation of
recovering 5,000 carats. If this is true we will continue to mine, if not we
withdraw. Lesotho is a sovereign country surrounded by South Africa. It had a
strong diamond mining tradition, which almost died in recent years. There is now
a significant upsurge in interest. Mines are opening at Letseng and Kao while
European Diamonds have recently bought into Liquobong. Guinea is estimated to
have 20 million carats of diamond reserves. As an early entrant, African
Diamonds obtained 3 licences, all of which have artisan workings. On Seria and
the adjacent Bomboko licences, our sampling found 20 diamonds. We are
undertaking a detailed sampling operation on our large Fangamadou licence along
the banks of the river Meli. We are zoning in on four areas with thick gravels.
Finance
We raised #800,000 on our listing in July. This is not reflected in the balance
sheet which is dated June 30th 2003. This will cover our current expenditure
plans until mid 2004 by which time our projects will be at stages easier to
finance. Our initial shareholder base of 500 has almost doubled in the past four
months. We will list on the Botswana Stock Exchange in early 2004 - the first
junior diamond company to do so. Botswana is the world's largest diamond
producer by value. There is an investor base familiar with and knowledgeable on
diamonds.
Future
Finding a diamond on our Orapa licence was a vital step toward success. It
should be the first of many. Circumstances favour us. Diamond demand is strong,
gem quality diamond prices are rising, we have good ground and the stock market
is amenable to our story. Our results to date are more important than rising
prices or good demand. In Sierra Leone and Botswana we have results, which give
us a reasonable chance in the near future to become a gemstone quality diamond
miner.
CONSOLIDATED PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2003
13 Months
Year ended ended
30/6/2003 30/6/2002
# #
TURNOVER - -
Cost of sales - -
GROSS PROFIT - -
Cost of admission to AIM (109,481) -
Administrative expenses (158,418) (44,232)
OPERATING LOSS - continuing operations (267,899) (44,232)
Interest payable and similar charges (1,090) (42)
Interest receivable and similar income 4,815 674
LOSS ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES
BEFORE TAXATION (264,174) (43,600)
Tax on loss on ordinary activities - -
LOSS ON ORDINARY ACTIVITIES AFTER
TAXATION FOR THE FINANCIAL YEAR (264,174) (43,600)
LOSS PER SHARE (0.63p) (0.52p)
LOSS PER SHARE - diluted (0.63p) (0.52p)
The company has no recognised gains or losses other than those disclosed in the
profit and loss account for the year.
BALANCE SHEETS
AT 30 JUNE 2003
Group Group Company Company
30 June 2003 30 June 2002 30 June 2003 30 June 2002
# # # #
FIXED ASSETS
Intangible assets 1,081,938 112,000 97,613 70,000
Investments 23,918 16,163 653,918 46,163
1,105,856 128,163 751,531 116,163
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors 33,387 1,427 403,672 22,387
Cash at bank 64,968 255,532 47,938 246,572
98,355 256,959 451,610 268,959
CREDITORS : (Amounts falling
due within one year) (299,957) (9,658) (298,887) (9,658)
NET CURRENT (LIABILITIES)/ASSETS (201,602) 247,301 152,723 259,301
NET ASSETS 904,254 375,464 904,254 375,464
CAPITAL AND RESERVES
Called-up share capital 433,126 274,533 433,126 274,533
Share premium 778,902 144,531 778,902 144,531
Profit and loss account (307,774) (43,600) (307,774) (43,600)
SHAREHOLDERS' FUNDS
- ALL EQUITY 904,254 375,464 904,254 375,464
The financial statements were approved by the Board of Directors on 16 December
2003 and signed on its behalf by :
John J Teeling
Director
CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT
FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 JUNE 2003
13 Months
Year ended ended
30/6/2003 30/6/2002
# #
NET CASH OUTFLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES (9,560) (35,999)
RETURNS ON INVESTMENTS AND SERVICING
OF FINANCE
Interest paid and similar charges (1,090) (42)
Interest received 4,815 674
NET CASH INFLOW FROM RETURNS ON INVESTMENTS AND SERVICING OF FINANCE 3,725 632
NET CASH OUTFLOW FROM CAPITAL EXPENDITURE AND FINANCIAL INVESTMENT
Payments to acquire intangible assets (369,938) (112,000)
Payments to acquire investments (7,755) (16,163)
NET CASH OUTFLOW FROM CAPITAL
EXPENDITURE AND FINANCIAL INVESTMENT (377,693) (128,163)
NET CASH OUTFLOW BEFORE FINANCING (383,528) (163,530)
FINANCING:
Issue of ordinary share capital for cash 192,964 419,062
NET CASH INFLOW FROM FINANCING 192,964 419,062
(DECREASE)/INCREASE IN CASH (190,564) 255,532
Contacts:
African Diamonds Plc
John Teeling tel: +353 87 2581178
Leon Daniels tel: +267 24 40252
Redleaf Communications
Nick Lambert tel: +44 (0) 7811 358 764
Notes:
The financial information contained in this announcement does not constitute
statutory accounts within the meaning of Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985.
The figures for the 13 months ended 30 June 2002 have been extracted from the
statutory accounts which have been filed with the Register of Companies and
which are available on request from the Company Secretary. The auditor's report
on those accounts was unqualified and did not contain any statement under
section 237(2) or section 237(3) of the Companies Act 1985. The statutory
accounts for the financial year ended 30 June 2003 have been approved by the
Directors. The auditors' report on these accounts was unqualified and did not
contain any statement under section 237(2) or section 237(3) of the Companies
Act 1985
A copy of the audited Annual Report for 2003 will be mailed to shareholders and
is also available for inspection at the Company's registered office at 20-22
Bedford Row, London WC1R 4JS.
www.afdiamonds.com
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