Botswana Mining Review Comprehensive Coverage of the Progress and Achievements in the Mining Sector
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Botswana Diamonds (BOD), a junior explorer listed on London’s AIM and the Botswana Stock Exchange, has positioned itself as a pioneering, AI-driven minerals exploration company following a recent breakthrough in its search for new diamond and polymetallic deposits. The company’s Managing Director, James Campbell, heralded the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) as a “real game-changer,” enabling the company to secure four new prospecting licenses in Botswana in a timeframe that would have traditionally taken a team of geologists years to achieve.
BOD’s competitive edge stems from its extensive geological database, which is the second largest of its kind in Botswana. This massive trove of information—totaling 350 Gb and covering $95,000 \text{ km}^2$, including $375,000 \text{ km}$ of airborne geophysical data and thousands of ground surveys and drill logs—was significantly enhanced by the 2020 acquisition of Sekaka Diamonds from Petra Diamonds. This acquisition, which included Sekaka’s exploration vehicle and its data accumulated since 2005, provided the foundational dataset for BOD’s AI initiative.
Inspired by the success of other AI-driven exploration firms like KoBold Metals, BOD initiated a new AI strategy in mid-2023. They partnered with the small Scottish company, Planetary AI, a leader in the field, utilizing its proprietary platform called Xplore. Xplore, a collaboration with International Geoscience Services, combines advanced knowledge-driven prospectivity analysis with machine learning and semantic technology. This latter technology—a branch of AI focused on understanding data meaning and context—allows the software to interpret and reason with complex geological data in a manner similar to a human geologist, facilitating the targeting of mineral resources based on over 50 global mineral deposit models.
BOD worked closely with Planetary AI to tailor Xplore, specifically instructing it to search for the elusive signatures of Group 2 kimberlites. Unlike the more common, magnetic Group 1 kimberlites, Group 2 pipes are harder to detect, leading the company to believe they represent most of Botswana’s undiscovered deposits. The AI initiative rapidly yielded results, identifying seven significant, previously unreported kimberlite targets. Following this, the company was awarded four new licences, covering $2,644 \text{ km}^2$, including an exciting target in the Jwaneng area with strong geochemical and geophysical signatures, which Campbell states will allow the company to move straight into detailed gravity work, significantly compressing exploration timelines and reducing costs. Furthermore, the Xplore platform also identified a number of high-value polymetallic targets, including copper and gold, prompting BOD to apply for 11 additional licenses over more than $7,000 \text{ km}^2$ of unlicensed ground.
The successful AI campaign arrives amid challenging times for the diamond sector, with a recent crash in diamond prices making project funding difficult, even for a surviving junior explorer like BOD. Despite this, the company continues to advance key existing assets, including the KX36 pipe in the Central Kalahari, which has an indicated resource of $17.9 \text{ Mt}$ at a grade of $35 \text{ cpht}$. The company has an eye on consolidating its Central Kalahari interests with the nearby Ghaghoo mine to create a major new producing area once market conditions improve and funding is secured. Similarly, follow-up on its South African asset, the Thorny River project in Limpopo, which recently received a mining permit, remains contingent on a recovery in diamond prices. Looking ahead, Campbell asserts that Botswana Diamonds’ future lies in its transformation into a multi-minerals explorer, leveraging its high-quality database and pioneering AI technology to secure partnerships and funding, thus realizing its vision for growth beyond diamond exploration.
