Motapa Third Quarter Financial Statements and Interim MD&A
1:40 PM ET, January 28, 2009
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, Jan 28, 2009 (Marketwire via COMTEX) -- Motapa Diamonds Inc. (MTP) has filed its interim consolidated financial statements and its Management Discussion and Analysis for the 3 months ended November 30, 2008 with regulatory authorities through SEDAR.
The interim consolidated financial statements were prepared by management in accordance with Canadian generally accepted accounting principals and were not reviewed by Motapa's auditors.
Overview
Highlights of Motapa's exploration activities during its second quarter of fiscal 2009 are:
- Mothae, Lesotho: As at December 31, 2008 4,370 diamonds had been recovered from Mothae weighing 1,826.94 carats.
In terms of the earn-in agreement with Lucara Diamonds Corp all diamonds recovered during processing of the 100,000 tonne bulk sample are the property of Motapa.
- Mothae, Lesotho: A preliminary valuation of 1,673 diamonds recovered from Mothae was conducted by Galaxy Diamond Expertise SA. Galaxy determined a value of US$441 per carat for this parcel and modeled a predicted value of US$822 for Mothae run of mine production. Galaxy noted that this modeled value had a high degree of uncertainty as a result of the small parcel size, and that a parcel of approximately 10,000 carats would be needed to produce a more reliable modeled value.
- Mothae, Lesotho: Drilling operations commenced at the end of November. Sixteen holes comprising 2,500 m are planned to begin delineating the extent of the pipe and the internal geological variation.
Cash and cash equivalents decreased during the period by $2,027,382 (2007: $254,457) to $5,417,335 (2007: $8,761,342).
Exploration expenditure for the quarter ended November 30, 2008 totaled $229,150 (2007: $172,667) almost exclusively due to expenditure on the drill target selection program in Democratic Republic of Congo.
The second phase of the bulk sampling program at the Mothae kimberlite in Lesotho was fully funded during this quarter by Lucara which is funding the first $4.2 million of phase 2 expenditures.
The Kavango project in Namibia was advanced with minimal spend by the Company as our joint venture partner, Namdeb Diamond Corporation, funded all exploration work during this quarter.
The Gabon uranium project also progressed during the quarter with all required funding provided by our joint venture partners, Cameco Corporation and Pitchstone Exploration Ltd.
Corporate expenditure (excluding stock option expenses) for the period ended November 30, 2008 totaled $173,444 (2007: $159,210) largely due to personnel costs of $97,097 (2007: $74,589), audit, legal and other compliance related costs of $38,660 (2007: $47,030), investor relations and conferences expenses of $12,227 (2007: $19,589), and travel and subsistence costs of $11,590 (2007: $16,686). Motapa recognized an incentive stock option expense of $12,216 (2007: $279,836) in the current quarter.
On behalf of the Board
MOTAPA DIAMONDS INC.
Dr. Larry Ott, Chief Executive Officer
This news release may contain assumptions, estimates, and other forward-looking statements regarding future events. Such forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and are subject to factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control that may cause actual results or performance to differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements.
SOURCE: Motapa Diamonds Inc.
Motapa Diamonds Inc.
Dr. Larry Ott
Chief Executive Officer
(604) 980-6770
Email: contact@motapadiamonds.com
Website: www.motapadiamonds.com
