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07.13
botswana
The ‘Sand Tunnel’ at Ghaghoo (photo: Gem Diamonds).
Botswana’s projected mineral exports through to around 2030
(taken from the presentation by Dr Keith Jefferis of Econsult
Botswana). As can be seen, exports of diamonds tail off in the mid
to late 2020s with coal and other minerals failing to make up for
the loss of export revenues.
cessful, was marred by two fatalities in May last year.
Mphusu said that in the aftermath of this incident,
Gem Diamonds had instituted a number of measures
to ensure safe working conditions and heighten safe-
ty awareness. Senior safety appointments had been
made, safety systems and procedures properly for-
malised and leading indicators identified and imple-
mented for regular review and action. In addition,
senior mining contracting staff had been replaced.
Modifications had also been made to the shield (es-
sentially a safety platform and canopy were installed)
to enhance safety and the shield’s mechanical excava-
tor removed. Moreover, the advance rate of the shield
was slowed.
The result, he told the conference, was a major im-
provement in safety statistics, with only one LTI hav-
ing being experienced since the fatalities, which he
said was noteworthy given the dangerous conditions.
He added that the site had earned an IRCA 4 Star Rat-
ing during the February 2013 audit.
AG milling at Karowe
The new Karowe mine’s experience with an autog-
enous mill was described by its GM, Gerald Ndlovu.
The presentation was similar to one made by Ndlo
vu (and Lehman van Niekerk of DRA) at the recent
SAIMM colloquium in Johannesburg entitled ‘Dia-
monds – Source to Use 2013’ and readers are referred
to our May 2013 issue for further details. Karowe (de-
veloped from the AK6 project in the Orapa area and
owned by Lucara) was opened last year and recently
recovered a 239 carat stone, one of the largest dia-
monds ever produced by the Orapa kimberlite field.
The 28 ft diameter by 13 ft (EGL) variable speed mill,
supplied by Outotec, is one of the first AG mills to
be installed at an African diamond mining operation,
the only other examples being at the Catoca mine in
Angola and the Ghaghoo mine in the Central Kala-
hari. The Ghaghoo unit is much smaller and (as ex-
plained above) not yet in operation. Ndlovu indicated
that Karowe was broadly satisfied with the operation
of its mill, although further work on optimising its
operation remained.
Only two presentations covered the field of dia-
mond exploration in detail, these being by John Teel-
ing, Executive Chairman of Dublin-based Botswana
Diamonds, which has tenements not only in Botswa-
na but also in Cameroon and Mozambique, and Dr
Leon Daniels, who is Chairman of Pangolin Dia-
monds. Both are well-known in diamond exploration
circles. Teeling, described on Botswana Diamonds’
website as “a serial entrepreneur in the resource sec-
tor”, was involved in the sale of African Diamonds
(and, along with it, the AK6 project) in 2010 to Lucara
in a deal worth approximately US$90 million while
Daniels has enjoyed a long career in exploration,
with his many successes including the discovery of
the only kimberlite (DK4) in the Orapa field not to
be found by De Beers. He also played a major role in
identifying the economic potential of AK6.
The Russians are coming
In a typically upbeat presentation, Teeling exuded
optimism about the prospects of Botswana Diamonds
and said the company was in negotiations with Rus-
sian diamond mining giant Alrosa which could result
in a joint venture to explore various properties in the
Orapa area. Although he was vague about the details,
he said the JV, if realised, could see “new technology
to identify large diamondiferous kimberlites” being
deployed. He described the technology as “incred-
ible” and said it had already been used successfully
in Russia to discover 17 diamond deposits in Sibe-
ria and was able “to identify kimberlites under 80 to
100 m of sand, salt and basalt.”
Elsewhere in Botswana, the company has taken
out an exclusive option on 13 licences in the Gope
area of the Central Kalahari. Teeling said these were
in the vicinity of the new Ghaghoo mine of Gem Dia-
