Dolat Ventures’ (OTC: DOLV) Sierra Leone based Millennium Mining has reported the results of recent tests at the Sewa River. The project’s first diamonds have been discovered with 300 stones and 187 total carats found through the first tests of the company’s washing plant.
The company told investors that the largest stone found was six carats and initial tests have averaged 0.40 carats per ton with over 80% gem quality.
"The first parcel was done on a very small test of 15-20 tons of gravel per day and the diamonds were extracted from the ground by hand and washed in a two-ton wash plant", Dolat Ventures President Dovid Hauck commented.
According to Dolat, the stones found in the first test were mostly white with a few smaller yellow and green stones. The company estimates that, once polished, the first parcel will have a market value of US$$65,000.
"These initial tests have been very successful and with our finds averaging 0.40 carats per ton with the one- six carat stone found worth $40,000 after cutting ... As we move our operating capacity up to 1500 tons of gravel per day we can expect ... to average finding 600 carats of diamonds per day," added Mr. Hauck.
Consequently, Dolat believes that, based on the results and these estimates, it can expect to achieve almost $4m in total sales per month.
The company also highlighted a report from Diamond New World, which according to Dolat, showed a 25% increase in Sierra Leone’s diamond exports in the first five months of 2010.
Millenium Mines has a mining agreement in place to dredge-mine land, in an area known as the Baimbawai Pool of the Sewa River, comprising an area around the towns of Gandorhun and Njala in the Tikonko Chiefdom, which is located in the Bo district of southern Sierra Leone.