Botswana Diamonds has secured four prospecting licences in Botswana, marking a significant milestone achieved through an innovative AI-driven exploration programme.

The licences, which cover an area of 2,644km², have been granted for diamond exploration in strategically identified regions with high potential.

The awarded licenses – PL298, PL303, PL304 and PL305 – are valid until 2025 and span diverse locations including the Serowe area north-west of Mahalapye, near the South African border south-west of Jwaneng, north-east of Lerala in eastern Botswana, and close to the KX36 in the Kalahari.

The licence near Jwaneng Mine is particularly noteworthy due to its promising anomaly signatures, suggesting the presence of multiple potential kimberlite sources.

The AI models employed by Botswana Diamonds incorporated various factors indicative of diamond presence, such as mineral chemistry, proximity to major geological structures and specific geophysical anomalies.

The methodology also considered the presence of slightly abraded stones, shallow Kalahari cover and the characteristic low magnetic signatures of Group 2 kimberlites, which are typically ilmenite poor.

Beyond the diamond-focused licences, the AI exploration models have also identified non-diamond targets, leading to 11 polymetallic licence applications for minerals such as cobalt, copper, gold, nickel, platinum group metals, silver and zinc.

Some of these applications cover areas previously unexplored for copper-related signals.

The company has received provisional acceptance for these applications and anticipates further positive developments regarding their official granting.