Gem Diamonds sells mothballed Ghaghoo mine to Okwa Diamonds

Okwa Diamonds, a joint venture with Vast Resources in which Botswana Diamonds has an initial 10% carried interest, has conditionally agreed to acquire Gem Diamonds Botswana (GDB) for $4 million.
GDB’s primary asset is the fully permitted Ghaghoo diamond mine in central Botswana which is currently under care and maintenance.
Botswana Diamonds said it has an initial free carried interest of 10% in Okwa Diamonds for the first $15 million of expenditure by Okwa, which is being funded by Vast Resources.
Botswana Diamonds can also earn up to a further 20% interest in Okwa through funding 20% of expenditure. 
Under the terms of the joint venture with Vast Resources, Botswana Diamonds will be the operator of the Ghaghoo mine until an agreed management team is in place.
“We believe there are significant opportunities to improve Ghaghoo’s operating and financial performance through both the application of new and optimisation of existing technologies along with a strongly recovering diamond market,” said Botswana Diamonds managing director James Campbell.
“Gem Diamonds’ advanced underground mine development and the surface infrastructure already in place, means a return to production is potentially possible with an overall objective to target a return to name plate capacity of 1.25 million tonnes yearly.”
Ghaghoo is a 10.8-hectare kimberlite pipe in central Botswana.
Data gathered in 2014 shows that the kimberlite pipe reported SAMREC compliant Indicated Resource of 79.3 million tonnes at an average grade of 19.5 cpht and diamond value of $242/ct.

Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished