BENGUELA CONCESSIONS' (Benco) new diamond dredging vessel, the Moonstar, has completed her trials off Cape Town and has left for Benco's diamond concession area off the Cape West Coast, just south of Oranjemund.
The R45 million ship incorporates the latest in marine mining technology, most of which was installed while in Cape Town where she underwent a complete refit by local ship repair yards. This follows the successful conclusion of a lengthy legal battle between Benco and Namibian Minerals Corporation (Namco). Dr John Gurney, chairman of Benco told FTW that all efforts would now be concentrated on marine mining.
We are confident our forecasts have been on the conservative side and we anticipate the recovery of 65 000 carats at an expected price of US$200-300 per carat during 1997 alone.
