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January 2015
MODERN MINING
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Top projects
but the best is yet to come
Beers favouring deferral). The ‘ins and outs’
of subsequent negotiations between African
Diamonds, De Beers and the Botswana gov-
ernment are not important here but suffice it
to say that the ‘logjam’ was broken in 2009
with De Beers selling its 71 % stake in the pro
ject to TSX-listed Lucara Diamond Corp, part
of the Lundin Group of Companies. African
Diamonds initially continued as a partner in
the project but was acquired by Lucara in late
2010, giving the latter 100 % control of AK6.
The decision to proceed with mine develop-
ment was taken by Lucara in November 2010
and the mine – which was given the name
Karowe, meaning ‘precious stone’, in 2011
– came on stream in April 2012. It was offi-
cially opened by the President of Botswana,
Lieutenant General Seretse Khama Ian Khama,
in August of the same year. It is an open-pit
operation with the processing circuit com-
bining autogenous milling – the first such
installation in the diamond world outside of
ALROSA – with a conventional DMS circuit.
The capex involved in developing the mine
was approximately US$120 million, less than
half the estimate of the De Beers DFS,
The mine is located near the town of
Letlhakane in the heart of the Orapa Kimberlite
DIAMONDS
The Karowe site (in Sep-
tember 2014) showing new
conveyors in the foreground,
the final recovery building
in the distance and (to the
right) the XRT plant under
construction (photo: Arthur
Tassell).
Field (OKF), which hosts over 80 kimberlite
bodies. Its neighbours include the BK11 mine
(owned by Firestone Diamonds but not currently
operating and up for sale) plus three Debswana
mines – Orapa, one of the world’s largest dia-
mond mines, Letlhakane and Damtshaa.
The AK6 kimberlite is a minnow compared
to Orapa (the AK1 kimberlite which Orapa
exploits had a surface area of 110 ha when
mining started) but it nevertheless represents
Inside the mine’s final
recovery building.