TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Could TSX-V-listed Pangolin Diamonds, which is exploring for diamonds on four licences in Botswana, be on to the tell-tale footprint of yet another kimberlite pipe?

Mere days after announcing that it had discovered one of the largest known kimberlite pipes in the world at its Tsabong North project, in the south-west of the country, Pangolin on Tuesday announced that it was on the trail of what could turn out to be another diamond-bearing orebody.

Pangolin said it had completed ten down-the-hole percussion-hammer drill holes at the Malatswae kimberlite project, in the north-east of the country, to a depth of 130 m.

The company sent the drill chips to an independent laboratory for analysis and for recovering any indicator garnets and diamonds. Results were still pending.

"The history of the kimberlitic garnets in the Malatswae project is complex. Their chemistry strongly suggests that there is an undiscovered kimberlite source within the project area and we intend to make the discovery. The completed drill programme will assist us towards that goal,” Pangolin chairperson Dr Leon Daniels said.

The company said the results from the analysis would help to determine the second phase of drilling in this area. The new drilling would mainly target kimberlites.

Previous work at the project had revealed several similarities with miner Petra Diamonds’ nearby KX36 kimberlite, which included similar concentrations of indicator garnets from soil samples and aeromagnetic positive and negative anomalies, similar to those of the KX36 kimberlite, but in this case, with a surface area of about 5 ha.

Significant concentrations of mantle-derived garnets were also previously recovered from sampling, including G10 garnets, of which the chemistry confirmed a new kimberlite source was present in the area, rather than the Orapa kimberlite field.

Pangolin last week Wednesday announced that it had discovered a 270 ha kimberlite pipe, adding a day later that it had unearthed another kimberlite – the Martin 01 – at the Tsabong North project.

Pangolin in September also announced that it had found a volcanic intrusion with diamond-inclusion-type ilmenites at its Mmadinare project, in north-eastern Botswana.

Botswana is the world’s largest producer of diamonds by value and it offers an excellent basis for exploration in that it ranks highly with regards to diamond prospectivity, has a low risk profile and an attractive fiscal regime.

Despite giving back 6.32%, or C$0.03, to change hands at C$0.445 a share on Tuesday at noon, Pangolin's TSX-V-listed stock had gained almost 94% in the past six months.