Petra Diamonds said results from an initial drilling and microdiamond sampling campaign at its KX36 kimberlite, in Botswana were highly encouraging, with indications of a potentially high grade.
It said in a statement that diamond grade recovered was between 75 and 180 cpht at a bottom-cut of 1mm.
The kimberlite was estimated to have a surface area of about 5 hectares, hosting a potential deposit of between 28 Mt and 34 Mt to a vertical depth of 516m below surface.
Petra said a decision was also taken to deploy an airborne EM survey in the KX36 region.
This survey would cover an area of about 300 to 400 km² and was expected to be completed by the end of third quarter FY 2013.
Meanwhile, the group said it was granted a six month extension for a part of the prospecting licence hosting kimberlite BK1S.
However, a decision was taken to formally relinquish the licence on expiry as it was not considered to offer economic potential as a stand-alone operation.
Mathew Nyaungwa, Editor in Chief of the African Bureau, Rough&Polished
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