Botswana Diamonds secures eight new prospecting licences

(Sharecast News) - Diamond exploration firm Botswana Diamonds said on Monday that it has been awarded eight new prospecting licences in northwest Botswana, covering around 7,000 square kilometres.

Botswana Diamonds said the permits run until 31 December 2028, with the areas selected following what the company described as an AIdriven review of its 95,000squarekilometre Botswana exploration database, which includes 375,000 line kilometres of geophysical data.

The AIM-listed firm stated the assessment identified strong copper potential, alongside additional prospects for gold and other critical minerals. The same technology has previously highlighted six unreported kimberliteprone zones, for which it also holds licences.

Botswana Diamonds said its move into copper reflected ongoing weakness in the diamond market and rising demand for copper and other metals linked to the energy transition.

Chairman John Teeling said: "The further AI analysis of our extensive Botswana exploration database continues to deliver exceptional results. Following the highly successful identification of kimberlite-prone ground, which led to the discovery of six previously unknown anomalies, we extended our analysis to copper and related minerals. The outcomes were outstanding.

"The mission of Botswana Diamonds was and still is diamonds. But the market environment for diamonds is poor at present. These market conditions will improve, and this approach allows us to continue progressing the business as a mining company while remaining committed to diamonds over the longer term."

As of 0955 GMT, Botswana Diamonds shares were 7.34% higher at 0.33p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com