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July 2017
MODERN MINING
49
COUNTRY FOCUS:
BOTSWANA
feature
A
IM-quoted Firestone Diamonds has
announced that it has entered into a
conditional option agreement for the
potential disposal of its Botswana operations,
which include its interest in the BK11 mine, to
Amulet Diamond Corporation for a total poten-
tial consideration of US$5,1 million in cash.
Amulet is a Canadian special purpose vehi-
cle formed for the purpose of the transaction
by a group of private investors led by Gareth
Penny (a former CEO of De Beers) and Diacore
Diamond Group, a multinational diamond
company with diversified interests in the dia-
mond industry.
Amulet will fund the construction and
operation of a bulk sample plant and the car-
rying out of a bulk sample programme at the
BK11 mine during the14-month option period
to further assess the deposit. In addition, it will,
during the option period, pay the ongoing cost
of BK11’s care and maintenance programme up
to a maximum of US$30 000 per month.
BK11 is located in the Orapa Kimberlite
Field in northern Botswana, approximately
Firestone
in fresh bid to sell BK11 mine
10 km west and 20 km south-east of Debswana’s
Letlhakane and Orapa mines, respectively. It is
also within 5 km of Lucara’s Karowe mine.
Phase 1 of the BK11 production plant com-
menced in August 2010 but was placed on care
and maintenance in February 2012 as a result
of the plant’s inability to successfully liberate
diamonds. Phase 2, which included secondary
and tertiary crushing circuits and connection
to the existing electrical power infrastructure,
remains to be implemented.
An agreement to sell BK11 to Vancouver-
based junior, Tango Mining, was signed in
2015 but the deal fell through last year when
Tango was unable to secure funding for the
acquisition.
Tango did, however, complete a PEA on the
project which examined the establishment of
an open-pit mining operation producing an
average of 90 000 carats per annum (exclud-
ing the final year) over a seven-year mine life.
The PEA estimated the life of mine revenues at
US$188 million and the development capex at
US$15 million.