IGE Resources has obtained the mining rights for its Bakerville diamond project, located near Johannesburg, South Africa.
The Bakerville project has a verified resource base of 454,000 carats and additional potential resources of 579,000 carats.
IGE will spend ZAR67.5m ($9.5m) out of the required ZAR90m ($12.7m) investment for bringing the mine into full commercial operation.
The company will work out a time for start-up of production after assessing the diamond market and the currency exchange rate in South Africa.
IGE CEO Tomas Fellbom said the mining right represents an important step in bringing the company’s diamond business forward, and the size and grades of the Bakerville diamonds are attractive and the mine will be a valuable contribution to its portfolio when operational.
IGE has a 55% interest in the Bakerville diamond project, with an exclusive option to acquire an additional 19% by November 2011 from Pannex, for a consideration of $2.5m.