TSX-Venture Exchange-listed Tsodilo Resources Limited said its Botswana subsidiary, Bosoto (Pty) Ltd., has been granted prospecting licence PL217/2016 in the Orapa Kimberlite Field in Botswana.
The licence area
PL217/2016 is located within the 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 in the OKF, eleven have been or are currently being mined. These are AK01 with AK02 and AK07 (Orapa, Debswana), AK06 (Karowe, Lucara Diamond Corporation), BK01, BK09, BK12 and BK15 (Damtshaa, Debswana), DK01 and DK02 (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 licence was granted on May 23, 2017 and has an initial effective date of January 1, 2017 expiring December 31, 2019. The licence area covers 580 km2 and lies south of the Orapa and Damtshaa mines; west of the Letlhakane mine; approximately 20 km from the Company’s diamondiferous BK16 kimberlite pipe; and, it is adjacent or proximate in all directions to the Karowe mine (Lucara Diamond Corp).
“There are several known kimberlite bodies immediately adjacent to the north and east of the licence block and an exploration program has been design to explore for yet to be discovered bodies,” Tsodilo Resources said.
“In addition to the kimberlite exploration, the company will focus on the alluvial potential of this ground as much of it occurs downstream of the diamond mines at AK06 and BK11. A detailed geomorphological analysis will be conducted paying particular attention to the paleo-drainage development of the region since the Cretaceous when the OKF was emplaced.”
The company believes that although denudation of the area has been limited, erosion has removed sufficient material from of the top of the kimberlites to release enough diamonds to form alluvial diamond placers close to the pipes.
Tsodilo has offices in Toronto, Canada and Gaborone and Maun, Botswana.
