Botswana Diamonds Acquires Mozambique Exploration License

Botswana Diamonds acquired an additional license to evaluate diamond prospects on the Save River in Mozambique, close to Zimbabwe's border.

The company signed an agreement with Mozambique-based Morminas, a subsidiary of the EIP group of Portugal. The license is in addition to another two license blocks the Botswana Diamonds is evaluating.

The Save River drains into Mozambique from the Marange area of Zimbabwe, and Botswana Diamonds aims to explore down river for potential alluvial deposits. The explorer estimates that diamond production from Marange will reach 16.9 million carats in 2013.

"Acquiring this additional license increases the scope of our prospective play close to the Marange diamond fields in Zimbabwe," said Botswana Diamonds' chairman, John Teeling. He noted that geologists are in the process of reviewing available data from the Save region and based upon results, the company will look toward negotiating a long term agreement with Morminas. The company currently has a six-month exclusive agreement.

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