Chronicle Editor
AIM-LISTED Botswana Diamonds has undertaken a placing with existing and new investors to raise £250 000 to fund exploration activities in Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa, according to an online publication, miningweekly.com.
It said the company will issue about 41 million new ordinary shares, at a placing price of 0,6p each.
Each placing share has one warrant attached, which allows investors to subscribe for one new ordinary share at 0,6p apiece for two years.
In South Africa, the company is exploring prospective rights together with Vutomi Mining, with the rights spanning 50 000 hectares in Limpopo, North West and Free State.
In Zimbabwe, it is exploring the Marange diamond fields, together with Aim-listed Vast Resources, which presently operates gold mines in the country.
Last year, Vast announced that it had been granted mining rights under a joint venture arrangement with the Chiadzwa Community Development Trust to explore and mine diamonds in Manicaland.
In 2016 companies that previously mined diamonds in the Chiadzwa area of Marange were merged as Government established the Zimbabwe Consolidated Diamond Company (ZCDC) with a view to promoting transparency in the Manicaland gemstones operations.
Cabinet has approved the Zimbabwe National Diamond Policy, which is expected to regulate the local diamond mining sector and ensure accountability in the mining, processing and selling of the precious mineral.
The policy will see only ZCDC, Murowa Diamonds and other companies to be approved by Government undertaking diamond exploration and mining in the country.
The policy covers all stages of the diamond value chain, namely exploration, mining, processing, valuation, marketing, beneficiation, value addition as well as issues of security and law enforcement.
Miningweekly.com said Botswana Diamonds and its 51 percent-owned subsidiary, Siseko Minerals, were also exploring the Maibwe Diamonds prospects, together with Botswana’s State-owned base metal producer BCL and Future Minerals.
Additionally, it is also exploring two other areas in Botswana, and the Orapa and Kalahari regions, of which Orapa is in joint venture with Russian diamond miner Alrosa. — miningweekly.com/Business Chronicle
Online Reporter