(Ecofin Agency) - British diamond producer Botswana Diamonds and its joint venture partner Alrosa, plan on launching a $700,000 exploration programme in Botswana. Both partners will pay half the cost of the programme.

The programme includes the drilling of one of its core holes to 300m and one or two large diameter holes, also at 300m on Botswana Diamonds’ PL 260 licence in Opara. Two or three more follow-up holes will be drilled at 80m on the PL 210 licence in the same area.

Commenting the news, Botswana Diamonds’ president, John Teeling said: “The wide diameter holes are to test whether diamond grades improve at depth, while the follow-up holes will investigate local geophysical anomalies – magnetic and electromagnetic – which can be connected with Kimberlites”.

Botswana Diamonds and extraction firm Alrosa formed the Sunland Minerals joint-venture, a firm which is very active in Orapa where the British group holds six exploration licences covering a total of 1,359.9 km2.

Louis-Nino KANSOUN