Petra ups Botswana diamond exploration

Petra Diamonds said it is evaluating recent discoveries, in Botswana with a view to further developing the potentially economic orebodies.
The company said that its exploration expenditure during the first half of the financial year (FY) 2012 was $800 000 up from $400 000 the year before.
Petra holds diamond prospecting licenses covering approximately 23,250 km2, in Botswana, all of which were on craton (the geological formation known to host economic primary diamond deposits).
It said following the relinquishment in late FY 2011 of large tracts of well-explored ground that had come to the end of their seven year licence tenure, the focus of exploration efforts shifted to the Kukama East and Lebu West project areas, where several historical kimberlite indicator mineral recoveries are being targeted.
Petra said the Ministry of Minerals, Energy and Water Affairs had also granted it with a six months extension of the prospecting licence covering the area hosting kimberlite BK1S.
BK1S was a 15 – 20 percent portion of the kimberlite body BK1 that falls outside Debswana's mining lease for the Damtshaa mine and within Petra's prospecting license.
Petra and Debswana were in discussions with regards to the analysis and evaluation of this shared orebody, it said.

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