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Project Status: On Hold
Exploration Stage: Advanced Exploration
Location: East of Bria, southern Central African Republic (CAR)
Project Areas: Nzako, Bangana North & South
Operator: Pangea DiamondFields PLC
Licence Area: 2900 km²

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The Etoile Project concession areas are situated in central CAR to the east of the town of Bria. The Etoile Project comprises of two separate licence blocks, the Nzako licence (922 km²) and the Bangana licence (1960 km²).

Access to the concession areas is possible by air from the capital, Bangui to an airstrip in the town ofNzako. The concession areas are also accessible by road from Bangui, a distance of approximately 750 km. The road has tarmac for the first 200km and thereafter, is an all weather gravel road.

Entitlement to the concession is held by Etoile Diamants SAU, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Efidium.

In early 2007 a Mining Convention was signed with the government of the CAR in which the framework for future development of the project is defined. In terms of this agreement the CAR government becomes a 10% shareholder in the project and provides the necessary support for the development.

Exploration in the Nzako and Bangana Licences commenced during 2007and 2008 respectively. . Camps were established at Nzako town and at Bani on the Bangana Licence.

The Nzako area has historically been an important alluvial diamond and gold producer. Recorded production up to 1963 from seven diggings was 194,111ct diamonds at an average stone size of 0.72 ct and an average grade of 38.4 ct/100m3. Since then production has continued on small scale by artisanal workers.

The Bangana area includes more than 200km of the Kotto and Bangana Rivers and their tributaries. Diamonds have been recovered intermittently from the recent Kotto River sediments and Bangana floodplain sediments by artisanal workers for many years but no production records were kept. Recorded diamond production up to 1963 for some of the Bangana tributaries are 32378ct at an average grade of 73ct/100 m3 and an average stone size of 0.7ct.

At Nzako, diamonds are associated with modern sediments of the north-south flowing Nzako River and its western tributaries. The modern sediments have been extensively mined and are responsible for the bulk of the diamonds produced in CAR during the mid 1900’s This river drains basement lithologies of the Fouroumbala Formation (only quartzites occasionally seen on the licence) covered by a thin veneer of red soils, lateralized river sediments and recent Nzako River sediments. PDF geologists have located a paleo-river gravel deposit to the west of the Nzako River, which is the focus of PDF’s activities. Exploration results have however shown that these deposits appear to be small. At Bangana the diamonds are associated with the gravels of the Kotto and Bangana Rivers and their tributaries. These rivers drain Mouka-Quadda Formation grits and sandstones. Both recent Bangana River sediments and Kotto River terraces are being sampled by PDF.