John Teeling
Botswana Diamonds says it has struck an agreement with Eversharp Investments (Pty) Ltd over the PL 117/2011 licence in the Orapa area of Botswana, covering 2.9 sq km. Eversharp is a private Botswana company holding exploration licences in the country, which as the world’s best mines and diamond deposits.
Under the terms of the agreement Botswana Diamonds becomes operator of the block and will earn into a new joint venture company which will own PL117/2011 (Newco). Botswana Diamonds can earn up to a 51 per cent interest in Newco by spending up to US$300,000 over three years.
Over the last two years, Botswana Diamonds personnel and its diamond major international partner have analysed all available geochemical and geophysical data on the Orapa region. The Orapa region is well known to be highly prospective for diamonds, containing several producing diamond mines and diamond development projects.
“We have identified a series of focused targets, one of which is on this specific block, PL 117/2011. This licence measures 2.9 sq km and contains AK10, a diamondiferous kimberlite, discovered in 2004 by African Diamonds plc (African Diamonds), the predecessor of Botswana Diamonds,” the company said.
African Diamonds is now owned by Lucara Diamond Corp who built and operates the Karowe Diamond Mine in Orapa some 10 km from AK10. Extensive drilling of AK 10 by African Diamonds did not reveal a commercial deposit however a recent review of all data suggests that this area is worth revisiting.
Botswana Diamonds revealed that a detailed work on the block will commence within weeks. This involves ground work to identify the best location to drill the target and will be followed by drilling.
“This joint venture is the first tangible result of our 18 month joint venture with a diamond multinational. A top priority target has been identified on this very small block. We will drill this once a specific location is identified by ground geophysics,” John Teeling, chairman of Botswana Diamonds said.
“We know this area well. It contains the five hectare AK10 drilled by African Diamonds, the predecessor company to Botswana Diamonds. During African Diamonds tenure we found good quality diamonds in the block but not enough of them to go to commercial mining. We are now using new technology and new eyes to look at the licence. This is a very prospective area.”
