Tsodilo Resources Limited, the TSX-listed company said it has commenced a drilling programme utilising its diamond core drill rigs on its wholly owned BK16 kimberlite project. The purpose of this drilling programme is to drill pilot holes on the sites which have been earmarked for the Large Diameter Drill (LDD) drilling programme.
BK16 conceptual geological model
According to the company, a geological model based on the 3,050 meters of core recover in 2015 was completed in 2016. Kimberlite phases VK2 and VK3 are volumetrically the most important and will be the focus of the LDD programme.
“The placement of the initial 14 LDD holes was designed to provide grade estimates for the main kimberlite phases as well as initial grade distribution across the kimberlite. Z Star Mineral Resource Consultants (Cape Town, South Africa) was retained to optimize these objectives. The hole diameter of the LDD holes will be 24-inch and the planned 14 holes will provide some 2,000 tons of kimberlite,” said the company.
“In order to correlate the diamond recoveries directly to the geological model and to ensure that the intersection of the LDD holes are maximized it is necessary to probe all LDD sites with the above mentioned pilot core holes. The cumulative depth of the core holes for this program is 3,000 meters and it is anticipated that the pilot holes will take 6 to 7 weeks to complete.”
The BK16 kimberlite project is located within the Orapa Kimberlite Field (OKF) in Botswana. The diamond mines in Botswana have produced an average of 27 million carats annually in the last 10 years and Botswana is the world’s largest producer of diamonds by value. In 2016, the OKF area produced 8.85 million carats. Of the 83 known kimberlite bodies, nine have been or are currently being mined.
These are AK1 (Orapa, Debswana), AK6 (Karowe, Lucara Diamond Corporation), BK1, BK9, BK12 and BK15 (Damtshaa, Debswana), DK1 and DK2 (Letlhakane, Debswana) and BK11 (Firestone Diamonds). The Karowe mine has produced such notable diamonds as the 1,109 carat ‘Lesedi La Rona’ and the 813 carat ‘Constellation’.
The diamondiferous BK16 kimberlite pipe is approximately 6 hectares in size at surface, and is known to contain rare and valuable Type IIa diamonds (see press release dated May 31, 2016). The following phases of kimberlite were identified during the 2015 drilling program: Red volcaniclastic kimberlite VK1, Black VK2, Grey VK3 and VKxxx also referred to as the basalt breccia, and coherent kimberlite CK1.
Tsodilo Resources Limited is an international diamond and metals exploration company engaged in the search for economic diamond and metal deposits at its Bosoto (Pty) Limited (“Bosoto”) and Gcwihaba Resources (Pty) Limited (“Gcwihaba”) projects in Botswana and its Idada 361 (Pty) Limited (“Idada”) project in Barberton, South Africa.
The company has a 100% stake in Bosoto (Pty) Ltd. which holds the BK16 kimberlite project in the Orapa Kimberlite Field in Botswana. The Company has a 100% stake in its Gcwihaba project area consisting of twenty-one (21) metal (base, precious, platinum group, and rare earth) prospecting licenses located in the North-West district of Botswana. Additionally, Tsodilo has a 70% stake in Idada Trading 361 (Pty) Limited which holds the gold and silver exploration license in the Barberton area of South Africa.
Tsodilo manages the exploration of the Gcwihaba, Bosoto and Idada projects. Overall supervision of the Company’s exploration program is the responsibility of Dr. Mike de Wit, President and COO of the Company and a “qualified person” as such term is defined in National Instrument 43-101.
It has offices in Toronto, Canada and Gaborone and Maun, Botswana.
