Botswana Diamonds Applies AI to Streamline Exploration Efforts

UK diamond explorer Botswana Diamonds (BOD), has launched an artificial intelligence (AI) initiative to expedite its exploration efforts in Botswana. 

The company is using AI technology to analyse its mineral database, which is the second-largest diamond exploration database in the country. The first results are expected in four to six weeks.

Collaboration with AI and Geoscience Experts

BOD’s AI initiative involves the use of Xplore mineral prospectivity technology, developed in collaboration with International Geoscience Services Limited and Planetary AI Ltd. The AI system processes large datasets in a manner akin to a geologist but at a much faster rate and with enhanced accuracy. By identifying gaps and inconsistencies in the data, the system aims to highlight new potential drill targets.

“The system acts much like a geologist but can function quicker and more efficiently,” said the company in a statement. “Vast data-sets are processed through AI that finds logical gaps in the data and learns to correct them. This exercise is expected to yield fresh insights that will offer drillable targets previously unseen.”

Scale of the Database and Scope of the Analysis

BOD’s database includes an impressive 380 gigabytes of data, covering approximately 95,000 square kilometres of exploration territory. This data includes 375,000 kilometres of airborne geophysical surveys, 606 ground surveys, over 228,000 soil sample results, and 32,000 drill hole logs. Such vast amounts of data have traditionally made manual analysis a time-consuming challenge, leading the company to pursue AI-driven techniques.

John Teeling, BOD’s chairman, highlighted the significance of this technology, stating: “Our mineral database in Botswana is simply vast – too big for timely analysis by humans. We feed in the data and create the models from our existing knowledge both theoretical and factual. The techniques then produce results. Where it finds inconsistencies or gaps, it adapts. It is early stages in both our work and the use of the technique in mineral exploration, but the future potential is huge.”

Implications for the Jewellery Industry

The use of AI in diamond exploration signals a shift towards more efficient and data-driven techniques in the search for gem deposits. As the jewellery industry continues to seek ethically and sustainably sourced diamonds, advancements like this may lead to the discovery of new deposits, potentially easing supply constraints in the future.