Botswana Diamonds ups stake in Maibwe joint venture

Botswana Diamonds announced the acquisition of an additional stake in the prospective Maibwe joint venture in Botswana on Wednesday.

The AIM-traded firm said Siseko Minerals has increased its stake in the prospective joint venture to 50%, from a previous 29%.

It said the consideration payable by Siseko was BWP 0.41m (£27.2k).

In addition, Maibwe had agreed to pay a royalty to the liquidators of BCL Botswana of 2% from any future commercial development.

Maibwe holds eleven prospecting licences in the Kalahari with several kimberlite pipes - one of which had reported “significant quantities” of microdiamonds.

The company said the agreement was subject to a number of conditions, including regulatory and competition authority approval, a guarantee for the acquisition consideration, authorisation that the liquidators can enter into such an agreement, and execution of the royalty agreement.

It said the completion date would be 90 days after the signature date of the agreement.

Botswana Diamonds said it would fund its share of the consideration, amounting to £13,600, from existing resources.

Maibwe was described as “effectively dormant”, with the company saying that in the year ended 31 May 2020, its total assets were nil, with all exploration expenditure expensed, and its loss before tax amounting to about £4,000.

“We are delighted that after several years of negotiating with the liquidators of BCL Botswana which held in its portfolio the Maibwe diamond joint venture in the Kalahari of Botswana that we have been able to unlock the corporate logjam and are now able to move ahead to examine properly the true potential of the Maibwe concession,” said chairman John Teeling.

At 0907 BST, shares in Botswana Diamonds were down 4.76% at 1p.

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.