Botswana Diamonds has secured a prospecting permit for five diamond-bearing kimberlites in the Marsfontein area of South Africa.

This permit spans 900.67ha and encompasses the historic Marsfontein diamond mine.

The company noted that the licence includes the kimberlite bodies M2, M3, M7, M8 and M9 and extends to the company's Thorny River properties in the Limpopo Province.

Botswana Diamonds primary focus is on the M3 kimberlite, which historical records suggest has a strike length of 100m and a true width of 10m, with some areas being wider.

Previous bulk sampling from an earlier explorer yielded grades ranging from 13.9 to 137 carats per hundred tonnes, with the diamonds noted for their good colour, quality and size distribution.

Significantly, M3 is situated on elevated ground, away from watercourses, and has undergone extensive benching, facilitating easier mining access without the need for costly drilling and blasting.

Botswana Diamonds chairman John Teeling said: “Obtaining this permit is very good news – five kimberlites around the mined out and hugely successful Marsfontein mine. We are particularly interested in the M3 kimberlite, which has never been mined.

“Our work indicates it is very prospective and we believe it enhances our adjacent Thorny River properties – easy to mine with good potential grades and quality. The diamond industry overall is currently in a depressed state with a cyclical downturn in demand and a structural change down to the growth of lab-grown diamonds.

“We believe demand will recover for mined diamonds and lab grown diamonds will take a certain percentage of the cheaper end of the jewellery market. M3 is almost ready to mine and we will confirm what is there and be ready to mine when prices recover.”

In August this year, Botswana Diamonds said that it would start using AI software on its Botswana database to improve efficiency in searching for new diamond deposits and other valuable materials.