Botswana Diamonds to carry out more drilling on Gope licence

(ShareCast News) - Botswana Diamonds said on Monday that it will shortly begin a large diameter drilling (LDD) programme on one of its licenses in the Gope region to establish the grade and quality of diamonds it knows to be present.The AIM-listed company has a 15% stake in Maibwe Diamonds, which owns the licence. Maibwe is a privately-held company controlled by BCL, a state-owned copper and nickel producer in Botswana. BCL is the operator.The planned drilling for macro diamond evaluation is to follow up on drilling conducted last year on the on PL 186 licence, to confirm the results and get a clearer understanding of the grade and size frequency distribution of diamonds. Work on the other licences within the Maibwe block is also planned.Botswana pointed out that the area is considered highly prospective for diamond discoveries.In 2013, the company signed a joint venture with Brightstone Mining on the block. BCL subsequently took over the block in 2015 and created Maibwe Diamonds.At 1306 BST, Botswana shares were up 14% to 2.20p.