TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Just a day after junior explorer Pangolin Diamonds announced that it had discovered one of the world’s largest kimberlite pipes at one of its projects in Botswana, the company on Thursday revealed that it had unearthed another kimberlite – the Martin 01 – at the Tsabong North project.

The TSX-V-listed prospector said a single hole drilled into the magnetic target revealed a potentially 31 ha Martin 01 kimberlite, which is located about 12 km north of the 270 ha Magi kimberlite the company had found at the same project.

Pangolin said it had intersected crater facies volcanic sediments at 85 m below the surface, and sandy tuffs at a depth of 105 m.

It said the Martin 01 kimberlite was distinguished from other kimberlites in the region in that it had a cover of Karoo sediments, including poorly developed thin coal seams, the significance of which is that it is the first recorded discovery of a kimberlite in Botswana below the Karoo formation in the area.

Core samples were currently being submitted to independent laboratories to recover any indicator minerals, and any diamonds.

Pangolin chairperson Dr Leon Daniels said the discovery of an additional kimberlite within the project area was “highly encouraging”.

“The fact that it is covered by Karoo-age rocks indicates the significance of not stopping the search for more kimberlites.”

In May, Pangolin discovered kimberlite within its 1 545 km² Tsabong North project, heralding the firm’s graduation from being an explorer to a discoverer.

The next month, the company announced a second kimberlite at the Tsabong North project, which subsequently turned out to be part of one large kimberlite.

Pangolin specialist diamond exploration consultant Manfred R Marx, who is credited with leading the field team that discovered what is now the largest openpit diamond mine in the world – the Orapa diamond mine – in April, 1967, at the time inferred that Pangolin’s discoveries could contain micaceous sandy tuffs similar to those observed in the lamproite volcanic structure at Rio Tinto’s Argyle diamond mine, in Western Australia.

The Argyle diamond mine was one of the world's largest diamond producers and was the largest producer of natural coloured diamonds. It currently had a grade of 4 ct/t.