Despite diamonds not being forever and facing the risk of complete extinction, Botswana is encouraged to diversify its mineral-dependent economy away from reliance on diamond revenue, in line with this, Minister of Minerals, Lefoko Moagi, has indicated that the country has a larger vision that extends beyond 2054.
Speaking at the Mining Indaba held recently in Cape Town, South Africa, the minister expressed the country’s aspiration to delve further and deeper in alignment with their goal of propelling Botswana from a middle-income status to a higher-income economy. This ambition is exemplified by the country’s recent initiation of underground mining in the open-pit mine of Jwaneng.
Last year, Botswana successfully finalised a highly anticipated diamond mining deal with the multinational giant, De Beers. This widely publicised agreement entails a 10-year contract between the two parties, spanning from 2023 to 2033, which both parties deem a “win-win” scenario. Furthermore, this deal is built upon a 25-year Debswana mining license extending until 2054.
Minister Moagi emphasised that the current focus is on a project to deepen Botswana’s mines, with a view towards sustained and continued diamond production well beyond 2054. He stated, “We are going to go beyond just 2054. There will be continued revenue going to the economy because of diamond mining.”
Moagi explained in an interview that Botswana is now exploring extensive underground mining projects to ensure sustainable production and to increase diamond reserves for the future. “We will go underground,” he stated. “There is what is called early works, where we start making preparations of what is going to happen…sinking of shafts…both production and ventilation or service shafts.”
The journey towards deeper mining has already commenced at Jwaneng Mine, one of the world’s largest and most valuable mines. Jwaneng Mine Divisional Mining Engineer Samuel Mokefane revealed that they have divided the underground project into four phases and have already begun early works for phase one at Jwaneng.
Mokefane disclosed that the mine is awaiting the appointment of an underground contractor to execute the project. He stated that phase one is currently in the study phase, while phase two has yet to begin.
As Jwaneng Mine has primarily been an open-pit mine, Mokefane mentioned the necessity for skills in the underground project. He further revealed plans to leverage experienced personnel recruited from the closed underground BCL mine and to train young Batswana in various learning institutes to prepare them for the underground mining project.
Minister of Minerals Moagi also acknowledged the possibility of diamond reserves depleting and mines becoming uneconomical. Therefore, the government of Botswana is exploring opportunities beyond the country’s borders, including sourcing diamonds from Angola and Zambia.
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