31 January 2024
Botswana Diamonds
PLC
("Botswana Diamonds" or the
"Company")
Granting
of Prospecting License over the diamondiferous Dokowayo kimberlite
pipes in the Kingdom of Eswatini
Highlights
· Botswana Diamonds ("BOD") is part of a consortium awarded a
prospecting licence over the Dokowayo kimberlites in Eswatini,
formerly Swaziland.
·
Dokowayo produced diamonds until 1996.
·
Output of Type IIA and fancy-colour
stones.
· Consortium comprises the King of Eswatini 25%,
Government 25%, local interest 15%, the Chandaria family 5% and BOD
30%. BOD will also act as operator.
Botswana Diamonds plc, the London AIM and Botswana Stock Exchange
listed diamond company, is pleased to announce that a consortium of
BOD, acting as operator (30%), Mr Michelo Shakantu (15%) and the
Conros Corporation owned by the Chandaria family (5%), collectively
known as Diamonds of Eswatini Pty Ltd, has been awarded a
Prospecting License over the diamondiferous Dokowayo kimberlites in
Eswatini in partnership with The Ingwenyama (His Excellency, King
Mswati III, 25%) and the Government of Eswatini (25%). Eswatini was
formerly called Swaziland and is a kingdom sitting between the
borders of South Africa and Mozambique. Nil consideration was
payable by BOD for its 30% interest.
The Prospecting License of just
under 4,000 hectares is for an initial period of one year and
renewable for a further year. There are at least two kimberlite
pipes and three kimberlite dykes on the Prospecting License, the
largest of which (K1) is a pipe of approximately 600 metres ("m")
in diameter. K1 was mined by Transhex between 1986-1996 when
720,222 carats were recovered. The mine was well known for
producing fancy pink and Type IIA diamonds and the largest stone
recovered was 146 carats. There are also significant tailings dumps
on the property as well as a stockpile of unprocessed kimberlite.
The kimberlite resource has been internally estimated at over 10
million tonnes ("Mt") to a depth of 200m and the dumps are
estimated to contain 2 Mt.
The plan is to undertake an
immediate, updated full desktop review and analysis of secondary
sources. Following this, bulk sampling of the dumps and
kimberlite stockpile is envisaged as the next step
forward.
Chairman, John Teeling, commented:
"We are delighted to have been
awarded this Prospecting License over the Dokowayo kimberlite pipe
in Eswatini, which we applied for several years ago. The pipe was
last mined a long time ago and following breakthroughs in both
exploration and mining technology we are excited about Dokowayo's
potential viability, especially seeing that Dokowayo is proven to
contain both pink and Type IIA diamonds, which are greatly in
demand and fetch amongst the very highest of diamond
prices".
This release has been approved by
James Campbell, Managing Director of Botswana Diamonds plc, a
qualified geologist (Pr.Sci.Nat), a Fellow of the Geological
Society of South Africa, a Fellow of the Southern African Institute
of Mining and Metallurgy, a Fellow of the Institute of Materials,
Metals and Mining (UK) and with over 38-years' experience in the
diamond sector.
A copy of this announcement is
available on the Company's website, at www.botswanadiamonds.co.uk
Enquiries:
Botswana
Diamonds PLC
John Teeling, Chairman
James Campbell, Managing Director
Jim Finn, Director
|
+353 1 833 2833
+27 83 457 3724
+353 1 833 2833
|
Nominated & Financial Adviser
Strand Hanson Limited
Ritchie Balmer
Rory Murphy
David Asquith
|
+44 (0) 20 7409 3494
|
Broker
First Equity Limited
Jason Robertson
|
+44 (0) 207
374 2212
|
Public
Relations
BlytheRay
Megan Ray Said Izagaren
|
+44 (0) 207
138 3206
+44 (0) 207
138 3553
+44 (0) 207
138 3206
|
Teneo
Luke Hogg
Alan Tyrrell
Fia Long
Alan Reynolds
|
+353 (0) 1
661 4055
+353 (0) 1
661 4055
|
www.botswanadiamonds.co.uk
ENDS