African Queen Mines
African Queen Mines' Sampling Yields G10 Garnets at Okavango Project in Botswana
African Queen Mines (TSX-V: AQ) announced results of geochemical sampling from its Okavango property, in the Ngamiland area of north-west Botswana. The Okavango property covers approximately 2592 square kilometres and sits on an extension of the Archaean Congo Craton - which hosts several kimberlite and alluvial diamond deposits.
The company reported the presence of G10 garnets and other kimberlitic indicator minerals on its key diamond targets, a vital step in identifying high priority drill targets, especially when the Okavango Property has on average 60 metres of sand cover. There is no previous record of "systematic diamond exploration" on the Okavango property.
African Queen was following up on magnetic targets highlighted in a previous high resolution aeromagnetic survey. "Analysis of the filtered data identified numerous bulls-eye magnetic features, consistent with the existence of a virgin sub-Kalahari kimberlite field with potentially as many as 100 or more distinct pipe targets. Ground magnetic and gravity surveys subsequently carried out by the Company over a portion of the bulls-eye aeromagnetic targets identified coincident signatures consistent with kimberlites," the company said. Results released today confirmed that several of the magnetic targets are associated with kimberlitic garnets and ilmenites.
"As kimberlitic garnets tend to disintegrate quickly in the Kalahari environment and the license area is covered with a relatively thick sand cover, discovery of the kimberlitic garnets is highly significant. Of the kimberlitic garnets recovered, a relatively high proportion were G10's and sodium-rich eclogitic garnets, with compositions matching inclusions in diamonds. This suggests there is a strong potential for the kimberlite targets to be diamondiferous."
African Queen now intends to commence drilling in February 2009 to test the highest priority targets.
Irwin Olian, CEO, said the company was very excited about the data: "We are very excited with the data being generated from our Okavango diamond property. The convergence of positive geochemical, geophysics and topographic data, together with mapping of the ancient river system, suggest the possibility of a major kimberlite field on the property. We are anxious to get on with the drilling early next year."