NAMAGROEN EMPR Amendment.pdf - DLIST Benguela

Addendum to EMPR for Concessions 8(a), 9(a) and 8(b) 1INTRODUCTIONMining licences to extract diamonds in Concessions 8(a) and 9(a) were granted to NamagroenProspecting & Investments (Pty) Ltd (henceforth referred to as Namagroen) in 1991 and 1990,respectively. The licences remain valid until the ore reserve has been exhausted, subject tocertain conditions in the mining lease agreement with the Minister of Minerals and Energy.Prospecting rights to search for diamonds in sea Concession 8(b) were first granted toNamagroen in 1985. The right was renewed in 1993 and 1998, and remains valid subject tocertain conditions. Conversion to a Mining Right is pending.Early prospecting results in these areas dating back to the late 1960s have been supplementedwith recent geophysical (bathymetric and sidescan) surveys. Between 1983 and 1984, Rio Tintoconducted an intensive sampling program focused mainly on Rooiwal Bay, but covering a fairlywide range along almost the entire coastal extent of the Namagroen Concessions 8(a) and 9(a).Since 1985, various small-scale mining contractors operating from small to medium-sizedvessels and shore-units have worked the concessions. Following a period of relatively low sandaccumulation in inshore areas during the 1980s, a substantial proportion of the 8(a) and 9(a)concessions is now characterised by mobile sandy overburden with an average thickness0.25 m. This has historically made mining by standard shore- or vessel-based contractoroperationsdifficult, as the overburden first needs to be stripped away before the targetgravels become accessible to the diver-operated suction pumps. As a consequence of, and incombination with, recent decreases in suitable diving conditions production from theseconcessions has been disappointing for many years, despite a comparatively rich inferredresource.The recent successful use of contracted Trailing Suction Hopper Dredges to mine marinegravels in areas with excessive overburden has prompted Namagroen to consider implementingmarine dredging technology to accelerate production opportunities in their shallow-waterconcessions. Consequently, Namagroen has entered into a mining contract with GeometricalEarth and Ocean Mining (Pty) Ltd (Geo-Mining) to “extract and search for diamonds andprecious stones within the concessions”. Geo-Mining in turn have formed a strategic alliancewith Dredging International (DI), one of the primary operating companies of the Belgium-basedDredging, Environmental and Marine Engineering (DEME) Group, to extract the target marinegravels using a trailing suction hopper dredger.Environmental Management Programme Reports (EMPR) for mining operations in the 8(a) and9(a) concessions and prospecting operations in Concession 8(b) were submitted to, andsubsequently approved by, the Department of Minerals and Energy (DME) in August 2003, andJanuary 2001, respectively. However, as the EMPRs do not cover diamond extraction usingdredger technology, an amendment to the approved EMPRs is required before dredgingoperations can commence. This document represents the required amendment, and is basedon the format proposed in the Generic Environmental Management Programme Report, and inaccordance with the guidelines for the preparation of an EMPR for prospecting for, and miningof offshore precious stones set by the DME.Namagroen Prospecting & Investments October 2008