By Sharyn Macnamara
Business insights in Part 2 of the African Mining series “Doing business in Botswana” reveal the growing opportunities and requisite challenges these bring to a country known for its solid government investment growth strategy and political stability.
Image Credit: Freepik.com
Part 1 – “It’s back to business in Botswana”1 – covered sound motivation for a repeat of Mining and Technical Exhibitions’ (MTE’s) annual ‘Botswana Combo’ trilogy expo tour in the mining and power sectors in Botswana this March. These were reinforced by Andrew Macnamara, operations director at the company, when he visited the country mid-January this year.
Diamonds are forever
‘Word on the ground’ is that “the mining and power industry in Botswana is upbeat, despite the downswing in diamond and coal pricing, with maintenance taking precedence at the moment in many operations. The pricing trends have induced cost curbing, which of course means it is time to maintain relationships and offer innovative, cost-effective solutions across the board,” said Macnamara.
These trends were already highlighted when President Mokgweetsi Masisi delivered his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on 6 November 2023 – Botswana still depends on diamonds for economic growth, despite government strategy to diversify the economy. Masisi noted that the economy is expected to grow only 3.8% in 2023, compared to 5.8% in 2022, predominantly due to weak demand for rough diamonds. Economists have intimated that this growth rate also indicates the normalisation of the economy after the turbulent COVID-19 period. Mineral commodities including diamonds, copper-nickel and silver, made up 92% of total exports, while in 2022 diamond mining made up around 20% of gross domestic product (GDP) and diamond cutting, polishing and trading made up about 5%.
In line with this, in December 2023, Al Cook, CEO of De Beers Group, commented on the company’s sales cycle 10, 2023 with provisional sales of USD130-million across the company’s business. “De Beers continued to offer lower levels of rough diamond supply, in line with current demand. As the end-ofyear holiday season progresses, we are seeing signs that the diamond industry is regaining its balance between wholesale supply and demand. Polished diamond prices look to have stabilised as inventory levels have decreased, though we expect improvements in rough diamond trading conditions to be gradual.”
Supplied by De Beers Group
And coal is still key
On the other side of the coin in Botswana, Macnamara highlighted some key developments on the coal front. One of these, the Jindal Energy Botswana’s 300MW – since doubled to 600MW capacity – thermal coal-fired power plant at the Mmamabula coal field was named a priority project in Masisi’s SONA address. The 30-year deal will enable Botswana to supply power across the southern African region, making Botswana self-sufficient and a net exporter of electricity to a region in dire need of new energy solutions. The Botswana government has strategically planned ahead, continually updating its Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) – the government’s blueprint for electricity procurement between 2020 and 2040. Government is targeting a goal of generating at least 30% of national production from renewables by 2030. With more than 200 billion tonnes of coal resources, and the country’s energy demand expected to rise from 600MW currently to around 800MW by 2028, while its power supply is forecast to grow from just over 500MW to more than 1 000MW,3 Botswana cannot ignore the significance coal still plays in its energy mix. Under the original deal, Jindal agreed to spend USD1-billion to build a 4.5million tonne per annum coal mine and the power plant, recouping its investments from selling electricity to BPC over a 30-year period. While the 300MW plant was due to be complete by the first quarter of 2028, the Indian group has suggested that its project could be finalised by 2026. The Mmamabula coal project, located 145km north of Gaborone within the Southern Belt Central Kalahari sub-basin – which is an extension of the Waterberg Coalfield of South Africa where the large-scale Grootegeluk Coal Mine is situated – is also underway at the moment, with Maatla Resources implementing all the stages necessary to bring the low-cost thermal project into operation to produce high-grade coal for the export market and for the region.3 The company commenced construction on site in Q1 2023 and it aims to start production in Q2/3 2024. It will involve both opencast and underground mining, with an estimate of 100 000tpm for the South African inland market and seaborne exports. In the second phase, production is planned to increase to 300–400 000tpm.
Movement in manganese
“With the drive to mine battery metals for the climate change agenda, might manganese in Botswana be the next ‘mining miracle’ trend?” suggests Macnamara. Dr Nicolaas Steenkamp’s contributed article ‘Botswana in focus’4 in African Mining, incorporating Mining Mirror’s February 2024 issue speaks of this particular trend – “Various iron ore and manganese projects are also being developed… The Selkirk manganese project is being driven by Mandalay Resources, with exploration results indicating an estimated resource of 120 million tonnes of manganese ore grading 30% Mn. Other manganese exploration projects include the Matsitama manganese project located in the North East District again backed by Power Metal Resources, where results suggest an estimated resource of 20 million tonnes of manganese ore grading 27% Mn. “Finally, the Tati manganese project of Kalahari Resources has shown an estimated resource of 100 million tonnes of manganese ore grading 29% Mn. Significant strides have also been made by Giyani Metals in the development of the K-Hill manganese operations. The company announced a 310% increase in the indicated resources at the K-Hill Project. The current indicated resource is 163.1 million tonnes grading 16.1% manganese (Mt% Mn). This was followed by the installation of the crystallisation unit at its demonstration plant in Botswana. The crystallisation unit is a critical piece of equipment for the production of high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM), which will be the primary product of the K-Hill Project. The plant has successfully produced HPMSM with a purity of 99.9%, which meets the specifications for battery-grade HPMSM. Work on the optimised feasibility study (FS) commenced in Q4 of 2023. The FS will provide a more detailed assessment of the project’s economics and technical feasibility.”5 The mining and power industry is moving and shaking in Botswana, despite tough economic lows, at the moment and it is clear that the future of these industries is still burning brightly. “With our ears to the ground, MTE will look to incorporate new areas of development such as these in the future, over and above the areas we already visit, on an annual basis.”
Lethlakane Botswana exhibition 2023. Supplied by: @MTE
The MTE tour in Botswana
Visitor/exhibitor benefits: MTE’s proven ability to customise expos to appeal to specific operations and visitors that work in surrounding operations is unique, creating fast-tracked, high-impact exhibitions for both visitors and exhibitors. Visitors get to meet a number of relevant suppliers in a single location, close to their place of work, addressing their specific needs with a front row seat to the latest technology and innovation demos. Exhibitors will have the opportunity to meet with key personnel and senior management from surrounding operations. Perfectly placed to showcase solutions for current industry challenges to the right people, suppliers can establish a new client base and meet with existing clients too. Macnamara points out that the exhibitions are hosted in close proximity to the operations in the area, making the shows more accessible to decision makers with busy schedules. Tailored content according to the engineering requirements of surrounding operations, or that particular operation, at the time is included in the composition of the expo to make the visit worthwhile. These ‘high-impact’ expos are traditionally run for 5 hours, allowing visitors enough time to see all the technology in action through demos at the exhibition, end-to-end, before he leaves.  Andrew Macnamara, operations director at MTE MTE shows have benefitted exhibitors and visitors for over two decades in the SADC region as stakeholders are strategically and conveniently brought together to share needs and solutions. This creates endless opportunities for business to be generated and potentially fruitful relationships to be established. If you are a supplier to diamond, copper or coal mines (whether it be underground or surface mining) or the power industry, then these are the expos for you! 30 years’ experience in the industry has enabled MTE to fine-tune its offering to what works for both visitor and exhibitor. “There have been many changes over the years after tracking the trends in the industry and taking heed of the feedback from both exhibitors and visitors, and we have adjusted and transformed our business accordingly. This fact together with our strong relationships built on a ‘boots on the ground, face-to-face’ strategy have stood us in good stead,” says Macnamara. |