Aim-listed Botswana Diamonds on Monday announced that its 40%-owned associate Vutomi Mining had been granted a mining permit for the diamond-bearing gravels and residual unprocessed stockpiles around the iconic Marsfontein mine.
Vutomi partnered with Eurafrican Diamond Corporate (EDC) to mine and process the identified deposits on both Marsfontein and Thorny River.
EDC has started with site establishment and expects commissioning to start within the next two weeks.
Botswana Diamonds said in a statement that cash flows from the Marsfontein works would be used to fund ongoing exploration in Botswana and South Africa.
The Marsfontein mine was operated for two years in the late 1990s, with a payback of its entire development costs in less than four days. The mine’s grade was 172 carats per hundred tonnes, at a bottom cutoff of more than 1.2 mm, containing many fancy coloured diamonds.
The surrounding deposits in question were overlooked when the mine was closed.