Pangolin Diamonds Corp. (CVE:PAN) has announced its first discovery of kimberlite, the intrusive igneous rock that sometimes contains diamonds, at its Tsabong North project in Botswana.
The Toronto-based explorer’s find on the 100 per cent owned project is associated with an aeromagnetic anomaly of more than 20 hectares. Two additional diamond drill core holes are to be completed and are expected to intersect a minimum of 100 metres of kimberlite.
The company has also elevated additional previously identified kimberlite targets in the project area with similar magnetic signatures to targets of high immediate interest.
The project itself, located approximately 100 km north of the town of Tsabong in south-western Botswana, covers 1,545 square kilometres. It is situated on the Archaean Kaapvaal Craton, immediately north of the diamondiferous Tsabong kimberlite field that hosts the M1 Kimberlite, the largest known diamondiferous kimberlite pipe in the world.
With Pangolin’s management and team leaders armed with over 90 years of combined diamond exploration experience in the region, perhaps it’s not surprising that company chairman Dr. Leon Daniels was part of the Falconbridge team that developed the geological model of the 180 hectare M1 Kimberlite discovered in 1978.
Dr. Daniels was also directly involved in the discovery of several new kimberlites in the Tsabong kimberlite field.
The company has already identified more than 50 drill-ready aeromagnetic targets in the project area, several of which have surface areas of over 20 hectares. Exploration activities in the area are guided in part by the recommendations of an NI 43-101 technical report prepared for the project.
Pangolin’s soil sampling has produced what it called "highly anomalous concentrations" of kimberlite indicators within the Tsabong North project area.
“We are very pleased with Pangolin’s success to date, as we have now graduated from an explorer to a discoverer and are determined to continue on this course,” said chairman of the board, Dr Daniels.
The Tsabong North project is one of 11 prospecting licenses owned 100 per cent by the company. All of these licenses cover 5,307square kilometres of Botswana, the world's leading diamond producing country by value.
Shares of the company hit 33 cents today, from an open of 30 cents.