North Western Ngamiland Diamond Project
Location: North Western Ngamiland, Botswana
Owner: Mount Burgess (Botswana) (Proprietary) Limited (100%)
Project Location
The North Western Ngamiland Project granted in February 2009 is located on the north western border of Botswana and adjoins the Company’s Tsumkwe Diamond Project in Namibia. Seven exploration licences which are situated some 30km south of the Xau Xau kimberlite field cover an area of approximately seven thousand square kilometres.
Regional Geology
Similar to the adjoining Tsumkwe diamond project area in Namibia the North Western Ngamiland project area is located on the southern margins of the Angolan Craton and is underlain by basement lithologies of Proterozoic and granite gneiss belts of pre-Damaran and Damaran age. A portion of the area has been intruded by the Trans-African Limpopo-Botswana dolerite dyke swarm. A veneer of Kalahari sands covers virtually the whole of the area.
Exploration Model
The Company believes that the North Western Ngamiland Project area has high potential for the discovery of kimberlites for the following reasons:
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The area is situated on the southern margins of the Angolan Craton.
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The area is some 30 km south of the Xau Xau kimberlite field in Botswana and the western borders are some 30 kms east of the Gura Kimberlites in Namibia.
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A large portion of the area is situated within the Trans-Africa Limpopo-Botswana dolerite dyke swarm, offering a potential zone of weakness for the intrusion of kimberlites.
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There is a probability that one or possibly two of the G10 garnet nomalies found by the Company in Namibia were sourced from the area now covered by the prospecting licences in Botswana and transported into Nambia through an evident palaeo drainage.
Future Exploration
This area in Botswana was flown for aero-magnetics in 1998, which led to the discovery of the Xau Xau kimberlite field, some 30 km to the north of the Company’s prospecting licences.
The Company believes that it is in an extremely advantageous position to have secured the grant of these prospecting licences in Botswana as, together with its adjoining ground holding in Namibia it has consolidated a significant area, highly prospective for the discovery of diamondiferous kimberlites.
Through its previous base metals exploration and resource development of its Kihabe Zinc/Lead/Silver Project, which falls within this same area in Botswana, the Company has a well established base camp and infra-structure from which it can conduct future diamond exploration programmes within reasonable distances. This will significantly reduce on going future exploration costs while operating in this area during this period requiring strict resource management.
