Botswana Diamonds to start Orapa drilling in Sept

Botswana Diamonds said its drilling programme on Prospecting License No PL117/2011 in Orapa, Botswana is set to commence next month.
The two specific targets to be drilled, AN117/1 and AN117/2, were in the Northern part of this small 2.9 sq km block, it said in a statement.
The targets, identified from recent work by Sunland Minerals, the 50/50 joint venture between Alrosa of Russia and Botswana Diamonds, are prospective for the discovery of kimberlite bodies.
Verification drilling depth would be 100 meters and after the core was studied in Botswana, specimens and samples would be sent for analysis to St. Petersburg in Russia.
Botswana Diamonds said that two holes would be drilled on mineralogical and geophysical anomaly AN117/2 while two or three holes would be drilled on mineralogical anomaly AN117/1.
Additional geophysical works would be carried out in September on this area.
"Activity is quickening in our Sunland joint venture with Alrosa, the largest diamond producer in the world,” said Botswana Diamonds chairperson John Teeling.
“In September we will drill holes on each of two previously unknown anomalies on the PL117 block in Orapa, Botswana.  These are verification holes targeting kimberlites.”  
He said the company was also finalising an extensive Orapa exploration programme on its new ground also starting in September.  
“It has taken two years of painstaking data gathering and analysis to get to first drilling.  The programme is eagerly anticipated," said Teeling.
Botswana Diamonds also said that the final report from Sunland Minerals prepared by Alrosa geologists would be received in the near future.
This, it said, would outline opportunities arising from the detailed analysis of field data collected by the joint venture in recent months.

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