Hi Bushman I forward you comment to the CEO of afrAnd this was is reply:
"Before commenting the so-called vessel "delays", I will clear out the License matter. It is not true to say that there is a deadline on the License because this is not how the mining regulation works in Namibia. An EPL, which is a an Exploration and Prospecting License is awarded for an initial period of 7 years but during that period it must be controlled and renewed after the first 3 years and thereafter every 2 years. After the initial period of 7 years it must be controlled every 2 years. The word controlled means that we must prove to the Ministry that we have carried some exploration work during the period. There is no minimum requirement but we must show that we have made some developments. Furthermore, work does not mean working specifically on site. As an example, interpretation of results, work in lab and many other task not carried on site are acceptable as long as it shows some development. The License has been originally issued to Woduna in 1996. We are in joint-venture with Woduna since the end of 1999 and the License has always been renewed without any problems and it will be the case again in 2010. Don't forget that since 2000 we have conducted 3 geophysical survey and 2 sampling programs and spent near US $ 7 million on the project. Furthermore, Woduna is a Namibian group with about 25 shareholders, some of which are individuals but some others are Namibian empowerment and / or non-for profit social organization covering a vast activity in Namibia. Woduna is the first and only Namibian group that has had some success in the marine exploration sector. Also, The Ministry is well aware that there is not many efficient vessels available and they regard the Explorer as a good news and understand that it will open more potential because it is in a class apart. Therefore, I am not concerned at all concerning EPL renewal because the work has been done and the development carry forward, the money has been spent and are Namibian partner has already shown some success and some benefits from this joint-venture. The comment on Stockhouse is missing some deepness. It is easy to pitch an information in the air but it is more useful to support it with hard facts, which obviously has not been done.
Concerning the delays, I understand the impatience of the shareholders but it is important to refer to all the information that has been published by Afri-Can. It is quite loose to say that there is delays when no firm schedule has ever been published. It is true that time to time we stated that the contractor was estimating such "xyz" schedule but it is important to note that "estimation" is not "firm". Why was it difficult to established a firm schedule? Simply because nowadays it is very difficult to establish firm schedules for any building and engineering projects involving new high technologies. Many examples can be bring to attention: Airbus 380; they made all the efforts to deliver on time and since then they have loads of problems that have delayed many deliveries for over 2 years now. Heathrow Terminal 5; they made all the efforts to deliver on time and they had to struggle with tons of problems for over 18 months. Boeing 787: Boeing has decided to state that they would not make the same mistakes then Airbus and that they would meet their schedule. 2 years after that statement, the plane has not still made its first maiden flight and they are out of delays by many months. The same has happen to IMDH during the vessel conversion. This operation involves many parts providers and if only one is late it causes a chain effect. The other issue is that today, all of these high tech equipment are packed with computer technologies and software that are difficult to make work perfectly the first time. It is always bugging and slow down the procedures. This is today's reality and it is the same for any engineering and high tech project. This being said, it is certain that the vessel will be delivered soon and will work with the highest efficiency we can find in the marine exploration industry and this by far in front of any other exploration vessel that could be available.
A good question from the Stockhouse post is why are we waiting for this vessel instead going with a supplier ready and available? Before making comments like this one it is important to know the industry and it is well known and documented that there is not many vessels available for the job and the ones that exists are far from the efficiency that the Explorer will reach. We went trough this in using the Douglas Bay from De Beers Marine in 2001 and the Lady S from Gemfarm in 2002. The Douglas Bay is known as a good reconnaissance exploration vessel, which means it is good to prove presence of diamonds and find deposits but not capable to develop the resource. Why? Because the tools are too light and do not enable a deep penetration and cannot penetrate trough hard softly cemented layers. The Lady S is no well equip an not very efficient. We were satisfied of the geological results but not the number of samples, which were only 25 large samples in 30 days, instead of the guaranteed number of 88. Furthermore, the penetration was far from our criteria, despite the guarantees of the contractor. We found many diamonds and it was good enough to delineate the deposits but we have not been able to penetrate deep in the deposits and this means we left a wealth of information beside. The other vessels that could be available are of the same nature then these two and would not enable us to cover the whole deposits and we would leave behind a fortune in diamonds and information. We have a highly experienced team and we know the mistakes made by others and we do not intend to replicate these mistakes. Our shareholders deserve more than that. All the information above has been published in our technical reports, press releases and annual reports. The information is all available on our web site and other sites such as Sedar.com.
It is known in the industry that IMDH providing the most efficient vessels and equipment by far in front of anyone else. The Kovambo, Ya Toyvo, and Zacharia used by Namco, Samicor and De Beers were known to generate 3 times more results than any comparable vessels in the industry. These 3 vessels have been designed and built by IMDH people. As an example, the Ya Toyvo has been with De Beers for about 5 years. De Beers were very satisfy and they decided to build a new vessel with the exact same specifications. The vessel is called the Peace of Africa and is mining the Sa Sa deposit in South Africa. In 2004, Diamondfields were under a joint production deal with Samicor and were using the Kovambo. In 4 months they have mined 56,000 carats. After these initial 4 months, the deal felt because of a commercial dispute. Diamondfileds decided then that instead of resolving the dispute they would buy their own vessel and mine by themselves. They bought the Anya from the Gemfarm liquidation and for the next 4 years they have never mined more than 25,000 carats per years, which was 4 times less then the production of the Kovambo. All this information is of public nature and easy to find.
IMDH's people have proven to be far in front of anyone else in the industry. We have decided to wait for the Explorer because we know that it will be far more efficient than any other exploration vessels. In many press releases and annual reports, we have stated that we were to await this vessel because of it highest efficiency. Therefore, it is nothing new. We have the most experienced and one of the best geological team. a very good Namibian partner, a project offering a huge potential and very good shareholders who deserve that we make all the efforts to succeed and for this one important point is that we must avoid to follow the mistaken path of others.
I am sorry for this very long e-mail but I felt that the comment on Stockhouse you brought to me was a good opening to clarify some matters that have all been published but that have been forgotten over time.
The most important point is that we are finally very near to reach our goal and that the time to develop the resource on Block J is finally arriving very soon.
Feel very comfortable to contact us for any further information.
Looking forward to a successful sampling program,
Kind regards "
Pierre
Pierre Leveille
President & CEO
Afri-Can Marine Minerals Corp.
4444 Ste-Catherine West, # 201,
Montreal, Qc. Canada
H3Z 1R2
Tel: 1-514-846-2133
Fax: 1-514-846-1435