Botswana Diamonds has commenced drilling operations at the Ontevreden kimberlite pipe, which is part of the Company's Vutomi Joint Venture in South Africa, with the aim of ascertaining its diamond content.

In a statement released yesterday the Company’s board said that Ontevreden contains abundant key diamond indicators, typically seen in high-grade kimberlite pipes.

The kimberlite pipe was discovered in July 2017, and analysis of ground samples  along with detailed ground geophysics returned positive results. The drilling operations will confirm the size, provide an understanding of the internal geology and enough samples to enable both petrography and microdiamond analyses of the pipe, the Company said.

John Teeling, Chairman, commented, "We are pleased to announce the commencement of drilling at the Ontevreden kimberlite pipe.  We know that the pipe contains significant quantities of G10 and G9 garnets - high quality diamond indicator minerals frequently found in high-grade kimberlite pipes.  The drilling is to discover diamonds."

The Ontevreden kimberlite pipe is close to Petra Diamonds' now mothballed Helam Mine, which yielded a grade of 267 cpht and a diamond value of US$ 145/ct at a +1mm bottom cut off (2014 data), Botswana Diamonds said.