Botswana Diamonds PLC
Update on Exploration in Botswana
The board of Botswana Diamonds (AIM: BOD) is pleased to provide an update on the upcoming Botswana Diamonds/Alrosa exploration programme in Botswana.
A 7-person specialist Russian team of geologists and mineralogists will arrive in Botswana in early September and join with local Botswana Diamonds personnel to undertake a drilling and intensive soil sampling programme on specific areas on licences PL 206, PL 210 and PL 085 in the Orapa region.
Following this the team will move to our ground in the Gope region.
The exploration programme which we completed in the first half of 2015 identified a specific target on PL 210 in the Orapa area. A three-hole drill programme is expected to begin in the fourth week of September on this block. PL 210, located to the east of the Orapa diamond mine, has indicator minerals showing proximity to source as well as magnetic and electromagnetic anomalies.
John Teeling, Executive Chairman, comments, This will begin the next stage in our joint venture programme with Alrosa. The soil sampling results combined with magnetic analyses have identified a specific area in the southwest of licence PL 210. We will drill this area. Diamond exploration is very high risk but there is potential for a new kimberlite. Orapa is a world-renowned area for diamond-bearing kimberlites.
The second part of the programme involves more intensive soil sampling on PL 206 as well as on the new Orapa licence PL 085. Good Kimberlitic Indicator Minerals (KIMs) have been found on PL 206. The new work is to narrow down the area to define a target. Additionally, we have three small licences in the Gope region. Analyses done by Botswana Diamonds geologists indicate anomalies on each licence. The Alrosa team will carry out verification sampling. If the results are confirmed, drilling will follow.