Botswana Diamonds hits it big at Thorny River

Botswana Diamonds, the AIM and BSE listed diamond explorer has reported a completion of a 12- hole, 558 m reverse circulation drilling programme on its Thorny River property in South Africa. This was initially announced on 15 April 2021 as one which would comprise 6- holes, but was expanded due to positive results, in particular the extent of kimberlite encountered. According to Botswana Diamonds, a total of 71metres of kimberlite was intersected in the 12 holes, with an additional 19metres of kimberlitic breccia. The widest kimberlite down- the- hole intersection was 18metres. The drilling programme outlined a significant swell on the kimberlite dyke with a minimum strike length of 75metres and significantly the results are consistent with those of the contiguous.

River Blow which was drilled in November 2020. The integration of these two bodies is yet to be confirmed due to restricted drilling access between the two areas, which are less than 100metres apart. We expect one, continuous body, which would represent a significant new discovery.

Chairman John Teeling commented: “These are very good results. What was originally a six- hole Reverse Circulation drilling programme going eastwards from the River Blow was led westwards by good ongoing drilling indications, including one hole with an 18- metre intersection of kimberlite.

An additional six holes brought the drilling close to the River Blow. We fully expect the next phase of drilling to join the two discoveries into one continuous blow. This would double the volume of ore. It is worth noting that the kimberlite dyke system at Thorny River contains an average 60 diamond carats per one hundred tons of ore”