June 2014
MODERN MINING
13
MINING News
Karowe recovers 13 large diamonds
Lucara Diamond Corp, which owns the new Karowe diamond
mine in Botswana, has announced the recovery of a number
of diamonds larger than 100 carats, two of which exceed 200
carats, since the start of the second quarter. Of the thirteen
stones recovered, eight are gem quality diamonds.
The five largest gem quality stones weigh 259 ct, 239 ct,
153 ct (two stones) and 133 ct. Since the beginning of the
second quarter, Karowe has produced 239 diamonds larger
than 10,8 carats, including 27 diamonds with weights
between 50 and 100 carats.
“The ongoing recovery of these large and exceptional
white diamonds continues to drive increased value for Lucara
and its shareholders and has established the Karowemine as a
rare source of truly exceptional diamonds,”commentsWilliam
Lamb, Lucara’s President and CEO. “The ongoing recovery of
such stones is encouraging for a potential third exceptional
stone tender during the fourth quarter of 2014.”
Sedgman completes positive
study on Bolau coal project
A-Cap Resources has announced positive results from an inde-
pendent study conducted by Sedgman South Africa. A-Cap
commissioned Sedgman to assess the potential for development
of the Bolau coal project in Botswana covering geology, engineer-
ing and marketing.
The Bolau project is located on two tenements – PLs Foley
PL125/2009 and Bolau PL138/2005. A-Cap discovered coal hori-
zons on the tenements that appear to be on the up dip and down
dip extensions of the Sese coal project discovered by African
Energy Resources in 2010.
The coal thickness averages 20 m and occurs in two seams with
the upper seamat around 4mand a lower seamof 16m. In the dis-
covery areas, the stratigraphic package dips shallowly towards the
south-west at around 10 deg. The shallowest intersections in the
north of PL125/2009 are in holes F0006, F0007 and F0010 which
intersect the basal coal seam at between 20 and 35 m.
Based on the logged geology and the continuity of the coal
horizons in the adjacent Sese project, the deposit is interpreted to
host sub-bituminous thermal coal with the potential to produce
both domestic and export quality coal.
“From our initial drilling results, we knew the Bolau coal proj-
ect had distinct advantages because of the depth and size of the
deposit,”comments A-Cap CEO Paul Thomson.“The project encir-
cles tenements held by African Energy Resources (ASX: AFR) that
host the Sese coal project which has a JORC-compliant inferred
resource of 2,4 billion tonnes of thermal coal. While we remain
focused on continuing the development of our Letlhakane ura-
nium deposit, the new coal discoveries on Bolau and the higher
quality coal defined at Mea give A-Cap options to develop these
and add significant potential value to the company.
“In parallel, we are seeing new short to medium rail infra-
structure options being put in place between the governments
of Botswana and South Africa which will open up new market
opportunities for us.”
