The results are positive and point to the possibility of having another mine operating in the Orapa area.
The exploration activities on the Orapa Licence area are being carried out through Boteti Exploration (Pty) Ltd, which is a joint venture between African Diamonds (49 percent) and De Beers (51 percent).
The results are from AK6, which is one of the 29 known kimberlites, that forms part of the Boteti joint venture. The results indicate an average grade of 25 carats per 100 tonnes with an estimated value per carat of $138 (about P588). The kimberlite size is estimated at 10 hectares from the drilling done to date.
According to African Diamonds, the carats taken from the AK6 kimberlite were valued at Botswana Diamond Valuing Company (BDVC), which is owned by Debswana.
De Beers was very instrumental in the analysis of the carats because it did a profile on the quality and model of the diamonds and the estimating of pricing was done on the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) standards. DTC is De Beers’s marketing arm.
One analyst at a local brokerage said that he believes the results could lead to the development of a big mine in the area.
The results have cheered both the partners in the Orapa exploration license, which are Debeers and African Diamonds.
The two diamond companies formed the Boteti Exploration joint venture mid this year.
The joint venture holds 11 prospecting licenses covering an area of 3,964 square kilometres in Serowe, Shashe and Orapa. The Orapa licences contain 29 known kimberlites.
Chairman of African Diamonds, John Teeling, who was present in the country when the company listed on the venture capital board of the local bourse, was optimistic over the results.
“This is excellent news. The pipe size and per carat value of diamonds bear comparison with the neighbouring one million carat per annum Letlhakane diamond mine,” Teeling said.
He added that the Letlhakane kimberlite pipe is similar in size to the AK 6 and produces diamonds of the same grades with the diamond valuation per carat approaching $200 (about P852).
Teeling added: “the massive Orapa mine, which is also in the vicinity has a valuation per carat of around $50 (about P213).
These are still early days in the evaluation of the kimberlite AK6, but the significant exploration programme commencing in the near future will quickly improve our knowledge”.
In early December, Teeling said; “our Serowe licence in Botswana is already exceeding our expectations. We are now sure that a totally new kimberlite field exists on the licence. We have to find it. A note of caution, not all kimberlites are diamondiferous and many of those that contain diamonds are not commercial. But there is no better place in the world to find kimberlites than Botswana”.
Regarding the overall results of the exploration exercise, Teeling said he believes that the best is yet to come in Botswana.
“The results from AK6 - while still in the very early stages - offers tantalising prospects. We have an ongoing programme of bulk sampling of many of the 29 known kimberlites in the De Beers joint venture while a further 199 targets have been identified in the Orapa licences from aerial exploration techniques As a gem quality diamond explorer, we have particular interest in diamond industry trends. This is a good time for the diamond industry and it is likely to continue. There is a growing scarcity of gem quality diamonds and demand is increasing while supply is at its best.”
To further improve its estimates, the company said that it would conduct an in-depth exploration early next year.
African Diamonds Plc is primarily listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM: AFD) with a secondary listing on the Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE), from March this year.
The company has projects in other African countries, including Sierra Leone, Lesotho and Guinea.
