Gem Diamonds' Elphick elated with mining licence

After putting the Gope project on the backburner in 2009 as a measure to cut costs and stay afloat in the face of the global economic crisis, Gem diamonds has been awarded a 25-year mining licence.

"The mining licence has been granted for a period of 25 years, during which time the Company envisages a phased approach to the construction of the mine, with an underground mine planned to improve the Company's knowledge of the ore body, diamond valuation and metallurgical characteristics.