---ADDS BROKER COMMENT---
The pace of progress at Paragon Diamonds (LON:PRG) appears to show no signs of flagging.
Less than a month after receiving permission for trial mining at its Lemphane Kimberlite, in Lesotho, chairman Martin Doyle and the team have been awarded a prospecting licence in Botswana.
They will explore a highly prospective 442 square kilometres area located in the Tsabong Kimberlite Field, which for those in the know is significant.
It is host to a number of world-class diamond bearing kimberlites and boasts a 200-hectare “super-kimberlite”.
Work in the 1990s on the western portion of the licence recovered kimberlite indicator minerals including 0.5mm diamond. At the same time there are a number of as-yet-untested magnetic anomalies, Paragon said.
Chairman Doyle added: “The award of this licence will complement our holdings of historical kimberlite discoveries.
“I am very familiar with this area and the era of work having been part of the team that discovered the Lekgudu kimberlites to the south-west in the 1970s.
“The recovery of a diamond in widely spaced soil sampling, less than five kilometres from undrilled magnetic anomalies and on the margin of the extensive Tshabong Kimberlite field is highly significant.
“Securing this licence is a continuation of Paragon Diamonds' strategy of applying modern-day sampling protocols to historical discoveries to correctly assess grade and diamond values, a strategy we continue to focus on in Lesotho at our flagship Lemphane Kimberlite, at the Kaplamp Lamproite Field in Zambia and now at Tsabong in Botswana."
House broker Sanlam Securities pointed out that the Tsabong kimberlite field was not as well explored as the Orapa Field where De Beers has its Debswana operations, including Jwaneng.
"However, it is believed the Tsabong Kimberlite Field has the same tectonic setting as Orapa and is highly prospective," said mining analyst Charlie Long.
"Martin Doyle, Paragon’s executive chairman, started his career searching for kimberlites for De Beers and Anglo American in Botswana.
"He is of the belief that the historical discovery of the 0.5ct diamond from widely spaced soil sampling is particularly encouraging."
The broker added that the long life of this new prospecting licence at three years, which can be renewed twice again for two years, meant it would not distract Paragon from its current Lesotho activity.
Shares dipped 0.49% to 5.05p.