Botswana Diamonds farms out Thorny sampling work
Botswana Diamonds rolls out a model to keep risk off its balance sheet as it explores a diamond prospect in SA
Botswana Diamonds is keeping risk off its balance sheet and retaining focus on a large suite of prospects in SA, Botswana and Zimbabwe as it advances an expensive study into a potential mine. Botswana Diamonds would have needed to raise about £1m to fund the exploration and early-stage bulk sampling work to advance its confidence in the Thorny River diamond kimberlite dykes in SA, which would have meant stopping work in exploring other prospects, said CEO James Campbell. The company is headed by the successful pairing of chair John Teeling, who chaired African Diamonds, with Campbell who was MD at the same company and later the CEO of alluvial diamond miner Rockwell Diamonds. Campbell had a long history with De Beers. To avoid putting debt on Botswana Diamonds’ balance sheet or diluting shareholders with a rights issue to raise the money, the company has farmed out the early-bulk sampling work at Thorny River to Palaeo Minerals in exchange for 80% of revenue from diamond sales going...
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