Botswana Diamonds (LON: BOD) share price has surged on Wednesday after the company discovered a new, second kimberlite blow at Thorny River.
Botswana Diamonds share price rallied to highs of 1.35p on the news. It is now at 1.205p, up 17.09% from Tuesday's close.
The company reported the completion of a 12-hole, 558m reverse circulation drilling programme on its Thorny River property in South Africa.
The new blow (swell in the kimberlite dyke) is about the same size as the River Blow discovered at Thorny River in November 2020.
The initial announcement was made in mid-April but was expanded after positive results due to the extent of kimberlite encountered. It was expanded from six holes to 12 with 71 metres of kimberlite intersected in the 12 holes, with an additional 19 metres of kimberlitic breccia.
“The widest kimberlite down-the-hole intersection was 18 metres. The drilling programme outlined a significant swell on the kimberlite dyke with a minimum strike length of 75 metres and significantly the results are consistent with those of the contiguous River Blow which was drilled in November 2020,” Botswana Diamonds said in a statement.
The integration of the two bodies is yet to be confirmed due to restricted drilling access. However, the company expects one continuous body, which they say would represent a significant new discovery.
They will now take the next steps of integrating the results of the latest drilling programme into previous drilling and ground geophysics campaigns to develop a three-dimensional model of the two discoveries, which is expected to be complete by the end of May.
Botswana Diamonds Chairman, John Teeling, commented: “What was originally a six-hole Reverse Circulation drilling programme going eastwards from the River Blow was led westwards by good ongoing drilling indications, including one hole with an 18-metre intersection of kimberlite.
“An additional six holes brought the drilling close to the River Blow. We fully expect the next phase of drilling to join the two discoveries into one continuous blow.
“This would double the volume of ore. It is worth noting that the kimberlite dyke system at Thorny River contains an average 60 diamond carats per one hundred tons of ore. We expect the current discovery to maintain that pattern.”
Should you invest in Botswana Diamonds shares?
Botswana Diamonds shares are traded on the London stock exchange's AIM market (the alternative investment market), which is the submarket specifically for smaller companies. AIM stocks are attractive to investors as they have tax advantages and smaller companies have the potential to benefit from rapid growth. But are Botswana Diamonds shares the best buy? Our stock market analysts regularly review the market and share their picks for high growth companies