Tsodilo Resources Limited has announced that its subsidiary, Bosoto (Pty) Ltd has been granted key diamond exploration license PL217/2016 in the Orapa Kimberlite Field (OKF) in Botswana. The license was granted on May 23, 2017 and has an initial effective date of January 1, 2017 expiring on December 31, 2019. The Company has offices in Gaborone and Maun and Toronto, Canada.
According to their press release, the area that the license covers is 580 km2 and lies south of the Orapa and Damtshaa mines; west of the Letlhakane mine; approximately 20km from the Company’s diamondiferous BK16 kimberlite pipe; and, it is adjacent or proximate in all directions to the Karowe mine (Lucara Diamond Corp).
The press release also state that a detailed geomorphological analysis will be conducted paying particular attention to the paleo-drainage development of the region since the Cretaceous when the OKF was emplaced. The Company believes that although denudation of the area has been limited, erosion has removed sufficient material from of the top of the kimberlites to release enough diamonds to form alluvial diamond placers close to the pipes.
Meanwhile, the diamond mines in Botswana have produced an average of 27 million carats annually in the last 10 years and the country is the world’s largest producer of diamonds by value. In 2016, the OKF area produced 8.85 million carats. Of the 83 known kimberlite bodies in the OKF, 11 have been or are currently being mined. These are AK01 with AK02 and AK07 (Orapa, Debswana), AK06 (Karowe, Lucara Diamond Corporation), BK01, BK09, BK12 and BK15 (Damtshaa, Debswana), DK01 and DK02 (Letlhakane, Debswana) and BK11 (Firestone Diamonds). The Karowe mine has produced such notable diamonds as the 1,109 carat ‘Lesedi La Rona’ and the 813 carat ‘Constellation’.
Tsodilo Resources Limited is an international diamond and metals exploration company engaged in the search for economic diamond and metal deposits at its Bosoto (Pty) Limited and Gcwihaba Resources (Pty) Limited projects in Botswana and its Idada 361 (Pty) Limited project in Barberton, South Africa. The Company has a 100 percent stake in Bosoto (Pty) Ltd which holds the BK16 kimberlite project in the Orapa Kimberlite Field in Botswana. The Company has a 100 percent stake in its Gcwihaba project area consisting of 21 metal (base, precious, platinum group, and rare earth) prospecting licenses located in the North West district of Botswana.
Additionally, Tsodilo has a 70 percent stake in Idada Trading 361 (Pty) Limited which holds the gold and silver exploration license in the Barberton area of South Africa. Tsodilo manages the exploration of the Gcwihaba, Bosoto and Idada projects. Overall supervision of the Company’s exploration program is the responsibility of Dr Mike de Wit, President and COO of the Company and a “qualified person” as such term is defined in National Instrument 43-101.
