Work begins for Botswana Diamonds' Sunland venture

Botswana Diamonds announced on Tuesday that work is commencing on the first half Alrosa/Botswana joint venture - Sunland Minerals - in Botswana.

The AIM-traded company said the objective of the work was to follow-up on 15 previously-identified priority geophysical targets in PL232- 235 and PL001-004 in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve.

It said ground magnetics would be used to supplement the airborne gravity and airborne magnetic data obtained in earlier work.

A soil sample programme would operate in conjunction with the magnetic surveys, with the overall objective to turn geophysical targets already identified into drill targets.

“This phase of the work is being supervised by an exploration team from Botswana Diamonds and is fully funded,” the company’s board said in its statement.

The board also said that, at the Mining Indaba held in Cape Town last week, it was awarded runner-up in the prestigious Livingstone and Stanley Award for African exploration.

Randgold Resources was awarded the first prize.