Modern Mining July 2017

COUNTRY FOCUS: BOTSWANA

Firestone in fresh bid to sell BK11 mine

A IM-quoted Firestone Diamonds has announced that it has entered into a conditional option agreement for the potential disposal of its Botswana operations, which include its interest in the BK11 mine, to Amulet Diamond Corporation for a total poten- tial consideration of US$5,1 million in cash. Amulet is a Canadian special purpose vehi- cle formed for the purpose of the transaction by a group of private investors led by Gareth Penny (a former CEO of De Beers) and Diacore Diamond Group, a multinational diamond company with diversified interests in the dia- mond industry. Amulet will fund the construction and operation of a bulk sample plant and the car- rying out of a bulk sample programme at the BK11 mine during the14-month option period to further assess the deposit. In addition, it will, during the option period, pay the ongoing cost of BK11’s care and maintenance programme up to a maximum of US$30 000 per month. BK11 is located in the Orapa Kimberlite Field in northern Botswana, approximately

10 km west and 20 km south-east of Debswana’s Letlhakane and Orapa mines, respectively. It is also within 5 km of Lucara’s Karowe mine. Phase 1 of the BK11 production plant com- menced in August 2010 but was placed on care and maintenance in February 2012 as a result of the plant’s inability to successfully liberate diamonds. Phase 2, which included secondary and tertiary crushing circuits and connection to the existing electrical power infrastructure, remains to be implemented. An agreement to sell BK11 to Vancouver- based junior, Tango Mining, was signed in 2015 but the deal fell through last year when Tango was unable to secure funding for the acquisition. Tango did, however, complete a PEA on the project which examined the establishment of an open-pit mining operation producing an average of 90 000 carats per annum (exclud- ing the final year) over a seven-year mine life. The PEA estimated the life of mine revenues at US$188 million and the development capex at US$15 million. 

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July 2017  MODERN MINING  49