Botswana Diamonds said that Sunland Minerals, the 50:50 JV it has formed with Alrosa for exploration, has been awarded a new Prospecting Licence PL 260/2015 by the Botswana government.

In a statement released last week, the company said that PL260/2015 contains three previously-discovered kimberlite bodies, AK21, AK22 and AK23, and hence covers ground which is the highest priority for the BOD/Alrosa joint venture.

The new licence, PL 260/2015, covers 25 sq. km in the Orapa region of Botswana and is valid for three years from October 1, 2015.

Work on reviewing the block with a view to defining new anomalies and drill targets has commenced immediately, as the JV team is currently active in the same area. As part of this work, the existing kimberlites are also being reviewed to verify if they warrant further evaluation.