Botswana Diamonds PLC Discovery of New, Kimberlite Blow at Thorny River (5184X)
May 05 2021 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMBOD
RNS Number : 5184X
Botswana Diamonds PLC
05 May 2021
5(th) May 2021
Botswana Diamonds PLC
("Botswana Diamonds" or the "Company")
Discovery of New, Second Kimberlite Blow at Thorny River
Highlights
-- The new blow (swell in the kimberlite dyke) is about the same
size as the River Blow discovered at Thorny River in November
2020
-- A doubling of the planned six holes to twelve took the discovery close to the River discovery
-- The widest kimberlite intersected was 18 metres
-- The Board expects that further drilling should join the two
discoveries into one continuous blow
Chairman John Teeling commented: "These are very good results.
What was originally a six-hole Reverse Circulation drilling
programme going eastwards from the River Blow was led westwards by
good ongoing drilling indications, including one hole with an
18-metre intersection of kimberlite. An additional six holes
brought the drilling close to the River Blow. We fully expect the
next phase of drilling to join the two discoveries into one
continuous blow. This would double the volume of ore. It is worth
noting that the kimberlite dyke system at Thorny River contains an
average 60 diamond carats per one hundred tons of ore. We expect
the current discovery to maintain that pattern ."
Details
Botswana Diamonds, the AIM and BSE listed diamond explorer,
reports completion of a 12-hole, 558m reverse circulation drilling
programme on its Thorny River property in South Africa. This was
initially announced on 15 April 2021 as one which would comprise
6-holes, but was expanded due to positive results, in particular
the extent of kimberlite encountered.
A total of 71 metres of kimberlite was intersected in the 12
holes, with an additional 19 metres of kimberlitic breccia. The
widest kimberlite down-the-hole intersection was 18 metres. The
drilling programme outlined a significant swell on the kimberlite
dyke with a minimum strike length of 75 metres and significantly
the results are consistent with those of the contiguous River Blow
which was drilled in November 2020. The integration of these two
bodies is yet to be confirmed due to restricted drilling access
between the two areas, which are less than 100 metres apart. We
expect one, continuous body, which would represent a significant
new discovery.
The next step is to integrate the results of the latest drilling
programme into previous drilling and ground geophysics campaigns
and to develop a three-dimensional model of the two discoveries.
This is expected to be complete by the end of May. Following this,
samples from the drill chips which have been taken for diamond
recovery and kimberlitic mineral content will be analysed and this
is expected to be complete by mid-July. Based on the results from
these two workstreams, further resource definition work will be
planned.
For context, the discoveries at Thorny River are within the
Zebediela kimberlite field. This field chiefly consists of a series
of consistently diamondiferous kimberlite dykes with a strike
length of 20-km. On this dyke, there are number of blows being
Kudu, Sugarbird, Sugarbird Pass (all part of the Klipspringer
diamond mine) and Marsfontein. The four blows have been mined-out,
with the latter being mined by a De Beers / SouthernEra joint
venture with a payback of three and a half days. Marsfontein is 3.5
km west and on strike from the Company's discoveries. The objective
of the exploration programme is to discover additional blows.
This release has been approved by James Campbell, Managing
Director of Botswana Diamonds plc, a qualified geologist
(Pr.Sci.Nat), a Member of the Geological Society of South Africa, a
Fellow of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy,
a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Metals and Mining (UK) and
with over 35-years' experience in the diamond sector.
The information contained within this announcement is deemed by
the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under
the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No. 596/2014 as it forms part of
UK Domestic Law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act
2018.
The person who arranged for the release of this announcement on
behalf of the Company was James Campbell, Director
A copy of this announcement is available on the Company's
website, at www.botswanadiamonds.co.uk
Enquiries:
Botswana Diamonds PLC
John Teeling, Chairman +353 1 833 2833
James Campbell, Managing Director +27 83 457 3724
Jim Finn, Director +353 1 833 2833
Beaumont Cornish - Nominated Adviser
Michael Cornish
Roland Cornish +44 (0) 020 7628 3396
Beaumont Cornish Limited - Broker
Roland Cornish
Felicity Geidt +44 (0) 207 628 3396
First Equity Limited - Joint Broker
Jason Robertson +44 (0) 207 374 2212
Blytheweigh - PR +44 (0) 207 138 3206
Megan Ray +44 (0) 207 138 3553
Rachael Brooks +44 (0) 207 138 3206
Said Izagaren +44 (0) 207 138 3206
Naomi Holmes +44 (0) 207 138 3206
Teneo
Luke Hogg +353 (0) 1 661 4055
Alan Tyrrell +353 (0) 1 661 4055
Ross Murphy +353 (0) 1 661 4055
www.botswanadiamonds.co.uk
ENDS
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