Image credit: De Beers
The group spent BWP44 million ($4 million) last year on fieldwork programmes.
"The 2021 budget for exploration in Botswana will be focused on supporting fieldwork programmes and undertaking technical desktop work," Mmegi quoted an unnamed De Beers’ external communications official as saying.
"The 2021 budget has been reduced to align with the current stage of the exploration project lifecycle, where there will be a greater focus this year on technical desktop work to assess the significant data and information acquired over the past two to three years."
This year's exploration would be focused on Kokong and Kgalagadi.
De Beers previously focused on a 3,900 square kilometre area on the outskirts of Tsabong, which historical studies had hinted could contain 80 kimberlites, with many of them bigger than 20 hectares in size.
"The Tsabong Project has been completed, and although the information does not necessarily indicate the presence of economic deposits, De Beers successfully added significantly to the knowledge of Botswana's geology through the discovery of 21 new kimberlite pipes, and provided a wealth of technical data…," the official said.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
