Botswana Diamonds licensed for South African kimberlite cluster

              Diamond mining Botswana

The kimberlite cluster is located around 110km north-east of a Finsch diamond mine.

Diamond mining company Botswana Diamonds has secured a five-year prospecting licence on ground containing the Reivilo cluster of kimberlites in Barkley West, South Africa.

The kimberlite cluster is located around 110km north-east of a Finsch diamond mine owned by Petra Diamonds.

According to an exploration by the previous licence holder, the area holds a delineated a cluster of three kimberlite pipes, all within a 250m radius.

The prospecting licence is effective until June 2027.

Botswana Diamonds chairman John Teeling said: “When the ground became recently available, we immediately applied for the area.

“Botswana Diamonds management have long been aware of the diamond potential of this ground, and so we are delighted to have finally been awarded this high-profile exploration ground and look forward to updating shareholders in the near future on developments.”

Botswana Diamonds plans to finalise its exploration programme after carrying out a review of all the available data on the Reivilo cluster.

The firm said in a statement: “Samples of the drilling core produced G10 and eclogitic garnets, which are the optimal indicators for diamondiferous kimberlites.”

In July this year, Botswana Diamonds purchased an additional stake in the prospective Maibwe joint venture (JV) in Botswana.

The company holds a 51.7% stake in Siseko Minerals, which increased its stake in the JV from 29% to 50%.

At the time, Botswana Diamonds said it was involved in three companies focused on diamond exploration in Botswana, as well as owned assets in South Africa.

Maibwe currently holds 11 prospecting licences in Botswana’s area of the Kalahari Desert, which include several kimberlite pipes.

In October 2019, Botswana Diamonds received a mining permit for gravels and unprocessed stockpiles around the Marsfontein mine in South Africa via its associate, Vutomi Mining.

Source: DCLA

Lucapa’s Lulo Mine Turns Out 160ct. Rough

 

        160-carat rough. (Lucapa Diamond Company)

 Lucapa Diamond Company has recovered a 160-carat, high-quality rough from its Lulo mine in Angola, the sixth-largest stone the deposit has yielded.

The company found the type IIa diamond at the same alluvial mining block from which it unearthed a 170-carat pink — the Lulo Rose — in July, Lucapa said last week. The new addition marks the 28th diamond over 100 carats from Lulo.

Recently, Lucapa transitioned to mining rough from the lezirias, or flood plain area, of the site, which has led to the recovery of larger diamonds, it said. In the past two months, the miner has found more than 100 special stones — those weighing over 10.8 carats — at the deposit, including four type IIa rough diamonds weighing 99, 81, 74 and 66 carats.

Source: DCLA

151 ct Yellow diamond recovered at Canada’s Arctic Circle

oronto-listed Mountain Province Diamonds will next week put on sale an “exceptional” coloured rough diamond, which it recovered from the Gahcho Kué mine, in Canada’s Northwest Territories.

The diamond, a 151.60 t octahedron of exceptional clarity, will be offered for sale alongside a selection of more than 90 individual special rough diamonds recovered from the company’s Canadian diamond mine.

The upcoming sale represents the biggest offering of +10.8 ct gem quality diamonds offered by the company to date.

“This important diamond represents a clear example of the Gahcho Kué mine’s ability to consistently recover high-quality gems of exceptionally large size. These gems are highly coveted by collectors around the globe not only for their beauty but increasingly, for their Canadian origin,” commented VP for diamond marketing Reid Mackie.

Source: DCLA