Botswana Diamonds Awarded New Licenses in Orapa

Botswana Diamonds has received five new prospecting licenses in the Orapa region of Botswana, the company reported. The licenses cover a total area of 1,357 square kilometers and will be explored as part of the ongoing joint venture between the company and ALROSA.

ALROSA identified the area as a high priority, but the company did not previously have rights to explore some of the targets identified.

"We now have some of the top targets on our licenses. In particular ground to the north and west of the main Orapa area which has problems with swampy conditions and deep sand. Little exploration has been done on these areas with no known kimberlites to date. ALROSA believes the ground has kimberlites and that their technology and expertise will find them," said John Teeling, the chairman of Botswana Diamonds.

Teeling noted that the company has a joint budget of $1 million for the year to fund exploration.

Fieldwork on the new ground will be carried out at the same time as work at the company's PL 117 license, where a drill program with two targets is set to be implemented.