Modern Mining May 2016

COUNTRY FOCUS: BOTSWANA

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

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

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).

30  MODERN MINING  May 2016