Arnhem Land

North Australian Diamonds entered into a farm-in agreement with De Beers Exploration Australia Limited (DBAE) to earn 100% interest in tenements covering 13,000sq km. In 2007, North Australian Diamonds acquired the contractual right to obtain an 80% interest in 4 new tenements covering approximately 5,300sq km in the western region of Arnhem Land. When combined with tenements held 100% by NADL, the total project area covers in excess of 27,000sq km in the Arnhem Land region of the Northern Territory. The project area covers thirty-nine separate tenements of which thirteen are currently held under veto status. These tenements have in part been held by DBAE since 1979, however due to veto restrictions imposed by Aboriginal groups, no exploration has been conducted. Four of the tenements, totaling 1,800sq km, are available for immediate exploration.
The Arnhem Land project is located within an Aboriginal Reserve Area and consequently has only been subjected to sporadic and limited exploration efforts. In recent times the sentiment within aboriginal communities towards exploration and mining activities has been positively changing and access is being obtained for areas which were previously deemed inaccessible. The company continues to actively engage with the traditional owners in Arnhem Land to progress tenement applications to grant. In the past 12 month period NADL has made significant progress in accessing its Arnhem Land tenements including receiving ‘consent to negotiate’ status for 11 tenements. NADL is confident that access to most tenements is possible in a reasonable timeframe.