Name of the Project
Thorny River diamond dyke project.

Location
The project is a consolidation of the Frischgewaagt, Hartbeesfontein and Doornrivier properties, in Limpopo, South Africa.

Project Owner/s
Diamond exploration and project development company Botswana Diamonds.

Project Description
Thorny River comprises the eastern extension of the kimberlite dyke and/or pipe systems on which the Klipspringer and Marsfontein mines are located, both of which have been economically mined.

The project has a modelled in situ grade range of 46 carats per hundred tonnes (cpht) to 74 cpht and a diamond value range of $120/ct to $220/ct.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
Not stated.

Capital Expenditure
Not stated.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Botswana Diamonds has recovered four high-quality diamonds and abundant kimberlitic indicators from drill samples at the recently discovered River kimberlite extension at its Thorny River operation.

A total of 71 m of kimberlite were intersected in 12 percussion holes in the newly discovered River kimberlite extension in May, with an additional 19 m of kimberlitic breccia.

The widest kimberlite down-the-hole intersection was 18 m.

The drilling programme outlined a significant swell on the kimberlite dyke with a minimum strike length of 75 m.

The extension blow is contiguous with the diamondiferous River blow, which was discovered by the company in November 2020. 

Samples from these holes were taken at 1 m intervals and 12 of these totalling about 320 kg were selected and submitted to an independent processing facility for assessment through screening, dense-medium separation and hand sorting.

A further percussion drilling programme to assess the area between the River blow and the extension will begin within a month.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Botswana Diamonds, tel +353 1 833 2833/+353 1 833 2833, fax +353 1 833 3505 or email info@botswanadiamonds.co.uk.