Orapa diamond kimberlite
Kimberlita diamantífera de Orapa
- Date
- 1967 · confidence high
- Place
- Orapa, Central District, Botswana
- Credited to
- De Beers geologists (Manfred Marx and colleagues)
- Field
- Cosmos & Earth
What was discovered
After twelve years of tracing indicator garnets and ilmenites in Kalahari sand, De Beers located the Orapa kimberlite in 1967, one of the world's largest diamond mines. It was the start of Botswana's wealth.
The method followed the mineral trail from the Limpopo upstream to the source. Botswana managed to retain a high share of revenues through Debswana.
What it led to
- the discovery of Jwaneng (1973)
- use of indicator minerals in prospecting
- Botswana's economic growth from 1966