Botswana Diamonds (LON:BOD) has begun bulk sampling the BK5 diamondiferous kimberlite in Orapa, Botswana, to estimate value per tonne in the ground.
A total of 5,500 tonnes will be collected from BK5 and processed through a refurbished ten tonne-an-hour plant. First material is set to flow through the plant on 11 April and processing will continue until early July, when activity will switch to AK8 kimberlite where a 1,000 tonne bulk sample will be processed.
The AIM-listed diamond explorer holds three prospecting licences in the Orapa province, on which diamondiferous kimberlites have been found with three - AK8, AK9 and BK5 - being of “particular interest”.
Earlier work has shown that BK5 and AK8 contain diamonds and are of a size which could enable commercial development.
“This is a critical stage in the evaluation of the BK5 and AK8 kimberlites for commercial exploration. Once we establish the value per tonne of the kimberlite ore we can look at commercial options.
“While the size of the pipes is positive, the overall grade is marginal. The quality of the diamonds, which will be reflected in the price per carat, is a critical factor. Results will emerge from May onward,” said chairman of Botswana Diamonds John Teeling.
The current work is meant to estimate the value of ore in the ground, which will be compared to estimated operating costs of a standalone mine or a satellite supplier operation.
Orapa contains has five producing diamond mines, Orapa itself the world's biggest, Damtshaa, Lethlakane, BK11 and the new AK6 mine.
In late March, chairman Teeling bought nearly 4 million shares in the company representing a 3.93 percent stake in the company to take his total shareholding to 7.95 percent.
Botswana Diamonds comprises the exploration assets of African Diamonds (LON:AFD) which was sold to Lucara Diamond Corp in a share-based deal worth £51 million back in December.
The company is already funded for exploration through 2011, with US$2 million in cash.