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Botswana Diamonds Funds South Africa Project
Feb 6, 2017 10:24 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Botswana Diamonds has agreed to fund an exploration project
in South Africa in return for a 72 percent stake in mine developer Vutomi.
As part of the deal, Botswana Diamonds will pay Vutomi a
total of $1.2 million (GBP 942,000) in cash, of which $724,269 will be used to
fund exploration. Botswana Diamonds will also issue 100 million ordinary shares
each worth $0.003 (GBP 0.0025) to Vutomi shareholders, which translates into a payment of $311,648 in equity.
Vutomi owns more than 20 kimberlites in the
Limpopo, North-West and Free State provinces of South Africa, Botswana Diamonds
said. The flagship project, the Frischgewaagt mine in the Limpopo province, is
adjacent to Marsfontein, a former De Beers deposit. A sampling program at
Frischgewaagt yielded 247 carats in 2016, with an average value of $180 per
carat.
“We know already from the exploration work that we have
kimberlites and that they contain diamonds,” said John Teeling, chairman of
Botswana Diamonds (pictured). “Now we need to see whether there are enough diamonds of the
right quality to deliver a viable mine. The indications are good.”
The remaining 28 percent of Vutomi will continue to be held
by the company’s partners through South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment program.
Image: YouTube
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Tags:
Botswana, Botswana Diamonds, De Beers, development, exploration, Free State, Frischgewaagt, John Teeling, Limpopo, Marsfontein, mining, North-West, Rapaport News, South Africa, Vutomi
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