Botswana Diamonds, Alrosa to start $700 000 exploration programme

2nd March 2016 By: Megan van Wyngaardt - Creamer Media Contributing Editor Online

JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Aim-listed Botswana Diamonds and its joint venture partner Alrosa will start a $700 000 exploration programme in Botswana, this month.

Managed by Alrosa, the programme would see the drilling of one of its core holes to 300 m, along with one or two large diameter holes, each 300 m deep, on the AK21 kimberlite pipe on its PL 260 licence.

This would be followed by two or three follow-up holes, at 80 m each, on PL 210, as well as hard rock and heavy concentrate sampling on PL 260 and PL 210 and on four licences in the Gope area. Ground magnetic surveys and electromagnetic surveys would also be conducted at PL 260 and PL 085 in Orapa, as well as at PL 135, PL 136 and PL 137 in Gope.

“This is a very focused programme. The wide diameter holes are to test whether diamond grades improve at depth, while the follow-up holes will investigate local geophysical anomalies – magnetic and electromagnetic – which can be connected with kimberlites,” Botswana Diamonds chairperson John Teeling commented.

He added that the Gope area was emerging as an attractive diamond province, with Gem Diamonds’ Ghagoo mine and Petra Diamonds’ KX36 discovery already present. “We have already explored three small licences in the area and found anomalies. The proposed work will identify drill targets.”