Name of the Project
Tongo diamond mine project.

Location
The project is located in the eastern Kenema district of Sierra Leone.

Project Owner/s
Newfield Resources.

Project Description
Front-end engineering design (FEED) has definitively shown the Tongo project to be a technically robust and strongly economic development.

The FEED has shown the project to have an initial probable reserve of 1.09-million carats from the shallow zones of the Kundu and Lando kimberlites within the Tongo development. Total ore mined and processed is estimated at 1.09-million tonnes and total diamond production is forecast at about 1.09-million carats, with Kundu delivering about 460 000 ct and Lando about 640 000 ct.

The FEED estimates an initial eight-year life-of-mine, with peak production of 260 000 ct/y.

Mining is planned to be exclusively underground, with access to the Kundu and Lando kimberlites from a portal entrance located about midway between the two kimberlites. The selected mining method is traditional shrinkage stoping (with an 85 cm mining stope width).

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

All-in Sustaining Costs/All-in Costs
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of $33-million and an internal rate of return of 30%.

Capital Expenditure
The project is estimated at $29.4-million.

Planned Start/End Date
The FEED has concluded that diamonds could be produced within 12 months of the final investment decision.

Latest Developments
Newfield Resources is on track to produce the first diamonds from its Tongo diamond mine in the fourth quarter of this year.

The miner will also start the drilling and blasting of the underground decline at Tongo, following the arrival of the mining and support equipment on site.

The underground mining machinery comprises two jumbo drill rigs and two 15 t haul trucks, as well as two load, haul and dump machines, or loaders.

Following shipping delays from China, the machinery has cleared customs and undergone commissioning.

Support equipment for the decline development has also been shipped out of South Africa and received on site, Newfield has said.

Surface infrastructure construction is ongoing and the 100 t/h plant fabrication is progressing well.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Paradigm Project Management, together with MPH Consulting, Z-Star Mineral Resource Consultants, SRK Consulting and Datamine (FEED).

Contact Details for Project Information
Newfield Resources, tel +232 78 415163 or email info@newfieldresources.com.au.