Diamond

As a matter of urgency, Botswana must diversify into resources such as coal and base metals after a difficult year sapping government revenue for diamonds, Botswana’s President Mokgweetsi Masisi said on Wednesday. The Covid-19 pandemic has exacerbated the diamond sector’s vulnerability, which accounts for 80% of Botswana’s export earnings. “Overdependence …

Botswana Diamonds has revealed that the acquisition of Sekaka, the exploration vehicle belonging to the embattled rival Petra Diamonds (LON: PDL) and holding three prospecting licenses in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve of the world, had been completed. Sekaka had identified the KX36 kimberlite pipe in one of its licenses, …

Botswana Diamonds has reported that the Sekaka Prospecting License holding the KX36 high-grade kimberlite pipe has been extended to 30 September 2022 for a further two years. It also emerged that all the requirements for the acquisition of Sekaka Diamonds, as previously announced on 20 July 2020, have now been …

AIM and BSE-listed diamond explorer Botswana Diamonds say a number of geophysical techniques and technologies were applied including gravity, electromagnetics, magnetics and ground-penetrating radar at Marsfontein project in South Africa. D Drilling has commenced on the Thorny River and Marsfontein project areas in South Africa, out of the ten areas …

Botswana Diamonds has drilled two holes at depths of 67 m and 61 m, respectively, with one of them intersecting 4 m of kimberlite from about 54 m to 58 m depth at its Marsfontein project, in Botswana. The objective of the company’s latest drilling campaign was to test a …

Kalahari Key Mineral Exploration (KKME) has also received written confirmation from the country’s Department of Environmental Affairs that the environmental management plan (EMP) has now been approved. The EMP covers planned drilling operations at the Molopo Farms Complex (MFC) project and represents the last formal regulatory step prior to the …

The Botswana government has revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic has delayed its negotiations with the diamond miner, De Beers. The government said there was no guarantee that it would be able to renew a new 10-year sales agreement with De Beers before the end of December, when the current one …

The subsequent decline in the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) due to the drop in the production of diamonds makes it more imperative for Botswana to diversify its economy from mining. Rough diamond production decreased by 27 per cent to 11,3 million carats in the first half of 2020. This …