(IDEX Online News) – Botswana Diamonds plc has announced that it started its sampling exploration program in the Orapa area of Botswana.

The exploration program is being led by a team of geologists from Russian miner, ALROSA, Botswana Diamonds’ 50/50 joint venture partner.

Geologists have begun sampling on PLs 260 and 210, the former which covers an area of 25 square kilometers between the Karowe and Orapa diamond mines. Three kimberlites in PL260 are known to contain diamonds.

ALROSA and Botswana Diamonds agree that significant potential exists on the block, and a program of soil sampling geophysics, diamond drilling and reverse circulation wide diameter drilling is ongoing and will continue at the block until April.

A separate team is operating at PL210, where targeted geophysics and soil sampling are designed to select drill sites for diamond drilling, due to commence in early April.

Once the sampling and geophysics program has been completed on PL260 and PL210, the two teams will move to the Gope region.

“This is an important time for BOD.  The exploration programme on two licences in the Orapa area of Botswana has great potential,” said Botswana Diamonds chairman John Teeling.

The new licence, PL 260, already has known kimberlites containing diamonds. We want to test the belief that the grade improves at depth so we are taking a bulk sample to get reliable results. The follow up drilling on PL 210 will build on our 2015 drilling. We have reviewed data which gives us confidence that there are good levels of kimberlitic indicator minerals (KIMs) and hope that this drilling programme will validate this. Based on the angularity of the KIMs, we believe they have not travelled very far.