Vaaldiam Mining net loss more than tripled in the first quarter to $7.6m after suspending operations at the Duas Barras diamond mine in Brazil. By close of trade on Wednesday shares in the company had fallen 21%, close to an all-time low leaving it with a market capitalization of a paltry $12m, a far cry from the $150m-plus valuation it commanded a decade ago.
Vaaldiam said it will now focus on the development of the Brauna mine in Brazil after it paid $6.5m to increase its stake in the project to 51% in March. It has two other diamond mines in the country that are on care and maintenance.
Vaaldiam must pay US$6.5 million to the existing joint venture partners. The property area is 5,000 hectares, located in Bahia State, Brazil, contains 22 known kimberlite occurrences, including the Brauna 3 ('B3') kimberlite pipe.
Orezone Gold Corporation (ORE:TSX) is pleased to announce that it has completed the sale of its Sega Gold Project ("Sega") in Burkina Faso to Cluff Gold plc (Cluff) for total consideration of approximately US$26.5M.