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MODERN MINING
May 2016
Above:
The Tau pit at the
Mupane gold mine near
Francistown showing the
portal to the underground
mine (photo: Galane Gold).
Right:
The Karowe diamond
mine has proved to be one
of the most successful new
diamond mines developed
anywhere in the world in
recent years (photo: Lucara).
in the reporting period. Total carat produc-
tion for the quarter was just over 90 000. Ore
mined amounted to 677 766 tonnes with the
plant feed grade being 13,9 carats per hundred
tonnes. Lucara is forecasting diamond sales of
between 340 000 and 380 000 carats in 2016
from Karowe with operating costs expected to
be between US$33,5 and US$36,5 per tonne
processed.
As mentioned, the Lerala mine – although
a tiny operation compared to behemoths like
Jwaneng and Orapa – has been recommis-
sioned, with its owner, Australia’s Kimberley
Diamonds Limited (KDL), announcing in April
this year that production had commenced.
Located near Martin’s Drift, Lerala was origi-
nally opened in 2008 but a few months later
was placed on care and maintenance. It did
produce again in 2012 for a short period but
this campaign was not successful and the
operation was subsequently sold to KDL in
2014. Since acquiring the property, KDL has
refurbished and upgraded the plant at a cost
of A$9,4 million. It expects the mine – which
is an open-pit operation – to have an average
annual production of 336 000 carats over a life
of nine years.
Apart from diamonds, the other traditional
major pillar of Botswana’s mining industry has
been the mining of nickel (with some copper) at
the BCL operation in Selebi-Phikwe and also at
Tati Nickel (also now controlled by BCL) near
Francistown. Both mines are nearing the end
of their lives (although an open pit to exploit
the Selkirk deposit at Tati Nickel is reportedly
being planned). BCL is not running profitably
and is planning to trim costs by retrenching
some of its plus 4 000-strong workforce. The
exact number of jobs that will be lost is not yet
known but the figure is unlikely to be much
less than 900 workers (and possibly a good
deal more).
BCL’s MD, Daniel Maphulela, was recently
quoted in the Botswanan press as saying that it
“currently costs us about $8 to mine a pound of
nickel and yet the product is fetching about $4
on the international market. This leaves us with
a $4 hole for every pound that we mine.” To add
to the company’s woes, a smelter refurbishment
undertaken last year at Selebi-Phikwe led to a
significant loss due to the project over-running
on time, resulting in 50 days of lost production.
Regarding copper, Botswana used to have
two dedicated copper mining operations. Both
have now closed. One, Boseto, was devel-
oped by Australia’s Discovery Metals and was
only opened in 2012. It was the first mine in
Botswana’s Kalahari Copperbelt but soon ran
into problems and consistently failed to meet
its production targets. The other, African
Copper’s Mowana (in the Francistown area),
ceased operations in November last year (after
apparently failing to pay its mining contractor,
Diesel Power Mining Services).
All hope, however, is not lost for Botswana’s
copper mining sector. The media in Botswana
has reported that Mowana has three potential
suitors while the assets of the Boseto mine,
including its modern 3 Mt/a concentrator, were
acquired last year by Cupric Canyon Capital, a
US-based mining company managed by execu-
tives with backgrounds with Phelps Dodge (or
COUNTRY FOCUS:
BOTSWANA