Botswana Diamonds to explore further after finding four anomalies

(Sharecast News) - Botswana Diamonds is set to launch its next phase of exploration, it announced on Friday, as it identified four anomalies near the KX36 project in the Kalahari region of Botswana. The AIM-traded firm said the anomalies were detected through ground geophysics and are located near the KX36 project.

It believed that the anomalies could indicate the presence of undiscovered buried kimberlites, as kimberlites are typically found in clusters rather than in isolation.

The KX36 project itself is a 3.5-hectare kimberlite pipe in the Kalahari region.

Botswana Diamonds said the pipe was known to have significant resources, with indications of 17.9 million tonnes at 35 carats per hundred tonnes and an inferred resource of 6.7 million tonnes at 36 carats per hundred tonnes, valued at $65 per carat.

The estimated grade range for the project was between 57 and 76 carats per hundred tonnes, with an estimated diamond value of up to $107 per carat.

"Kimberlites occur in clusters, currently only KX36 has been discovered in this particular kimberlite field in the Kalahari so there should be more kimberlites waiting to be discovered," said chairman John Teeling.

"This work forms part of our emerging Kalahari strategy which could lead to this area being a major diamond producer."

At 1604 GMT, shares in Botswana Diamonds were up 0.95% at 0.53p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.