Pangea DiamondFields convoy carrying bulk sampling plant arrives at Longatshimo River project

Pangea Diamondfields plc, the mid-tier diamond producer and exploration company, announces that the convoy carrying the bulk sampling plant for the Longatshimo River project has arrived on site in the DRC and plant construction is now in progress.

Following the decision to ship the plant and equipment for bulk sampling activities at Longatshimo River on a 4,700 km overland journey from South Africa through Namibia and Angola to the DRC, the final vehicle in the 17 vehicle convoy arrived safely at the Longatshimo River camp site on the 19th December 2007. Pangea opted for this transport method as a result of the relatively isolated location of its Longatshimo and Tshikapa River projects. The projects are captive between the two rivers themselves, which have no bridges in the area, and the Angolan border.

Other options considered for the transport of bulk sampling equipment involved shipping by sea to the DRC port of Matadi and then by a series of river-barged and overland legs south on the DRC river systems, or by air and then overland transfer to site. These options were considered impractical due to time and cost constraints in the case of air-freight as well as the increased risk to the cargo due to the number of trans-shipping points. More importantly, PDF has now established a practical overland route to service the operations in the region with fuel, spares and other supplies.The operational team is currently busy constructing the plant on site and commissioning is on schedule for mid Q1 2008.

Commenting on the achievement, Chief Executive Officer, Rob Still said that the successful arrival of the convoy and the delivery of the bulk sampling equipment to the Longatshimo River project site is a noteworthy achievement for the PDF operations team. Opening this strategic logistics corridor represents a major leap forward in the development of our southern DRC projects.

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