I Found a Diamond Resource. Now What?

(ehudlaniado.com) - Over the last few weeks, we have taken an in-depth look at diamond exploration and have seen that finding diamonds is a very difficult task. Often aided by good science, and a little bit of luck, exploration geologists operate in a high-risk, high-reward environment where many discoveries prove worthless in their pursuit of a high-value economic diamond deposit. The amount of work that goes into a discovery is immense. But this often pales in comparison to the work required to develop a viable mining plan, which is often a pre-requisite to obtaining financing for a prospective project. The really hard work begins only after the basic economics of a diamond project have been determined, using what I call the ‘magic formula’. A feasibility study is needed to determine the full costs of mining, including both capital costs to build the mine, and ongoing operating costs. This is an extensive process that can take two to three years to complete, but is often needed before the company can seek financing for mine construction, whether external or internal.