Botswana Diamonds has been granted a diamond exploration license in eastern Cameroon, proactiveinvestors.co.uk reports.

The 8,087 square kilometer license is located next to the Mobilong license area, where a Korean exploration company has discovered diamonds. Botswana Diamonds CEO John Teeling noted that a diamond mine with an annual production capacity of 1 million carats was expected to be up and running at Mobilong by 2012.

Teeling said that the Mobilong diamond discovery was "intriguing the industry."

Botswana Diamonds has an 85% stake in the exploration project, with local partners holding the rest. The original phase of the license is valid for one year, with a renewal option for another year. After the second year, partners can apply for additional multi-year exploration licenses of up to 1,000 square kilometers each.

Teeling said that the company would use satellite imagery to find the "most promising" 1,000 square kilometers of the license and would then retain that area as a three-year exploration license.

Cameroon is not a diamond producer but borders other West African countries that have diamonds and mine them – including Guinea, to Cameroon's south, which in 2009 exported nearly 700,000 carats of diamonds valued at $29 million. To Cameroon's east lies the Central African Republic, whose 2009 diamond exports were half of Guinea's by volume (311,000 carats) but nearly double by value ($47 million.)