Companies: AFD   

Irish entrepreneur John Teeling’s African Diamonds says Botswana’s AK6 kimberlite discovery could start producing next year.

The Botswana government has told Boteti Exploration, of which AIM-quoted African Diamonds holds a 28.4 per cent stake, that its mining licence application for AK6, which holds an indicated ‘high-quality’ gem resource of 11.1 million carats, meets official requirements. Negotiations can now begin over issuing the licence and Boteti’s backers, including the De Beers diamond giant, say they expect AK6, for which De Beers has funded a £20 million feasibility study, to be in production by the end of next year.

Shares in African Diamonds surged from 45p in 2005 to 178p the following year before falling more recently to 70p. They have now reached 83p, up 3p this morning, where they value the company at £63.25 million and have speculative appeal.

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African Diamonds	AIM	£26.29m	34.50p	-1.50p
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Diamond progress for Teeling			03/04/2008
Teeling’s toast			21/02/2008
Still scrambling for Africa			07/02/2008
Robert Tyerman’s Exploration Insights			06/11/2006