Botswana Mining Review Comprehensive Coverage of the Progress and Achievements in the Mining Sector
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Botswana’s only active gold mine is coming back online, with Nova Africa Resources and partner AgaOne Commodities moving to restart the long-dormant Mupane operation by mid-2027 following a $21.5 million acquisition and plans that go well beyond simply reopening the pit.
Located near Francistown in the North-East District, Mupane Gold Mine first began operations in 2004, extracting ore from banded ironstone formations in the Mupanipani Hills. Originally developed by Canadian miner Galane Gold, the mine changed hands in 2022 when local management vehicle Hawks Mining Company took over but mounting financial difficulties, high operational costs and severe cash-flow problems accumulated into losses the operation couldn’t sustain. Production halted abruptly in March 2024, and after a period under care and maintenance, the mine fell into final liquidation in February 2025.
The closure left worker debts unpaid, which triggered the liquidation process. During the subsequent sale, Nova Africa offered $21.5 million upfront, while rival bidder Ulsan Botswana offered just $500,000 and then sued to block the higher bid from closing. Botswana’s Court of Appeal ultimately dismissed the lawsuit, clearing the sale and, critically, allowing the liquidator to pay roughly $3.6 million (P49 million) in back wages to former workers who had been left with nothing when the mine shut down.
The new owners’ ambitions extend past resuming extraction. According to Africa Intelligence, Nova Africa and AgaOne plan to build Botswana’s first domestic gold refinery alongside the mine restart, a facility that would let the country process gold locally rather than exporting raw metal. The stated goal is to position Botswana as a gold processing hub for Southern Africa, with refined gold exported directly to international markets including the United States.
Mining precious metals and stones remains central to Botswana’s economy, a position underscored recently when a Botswana mine unearthed a 1,305-carat diamond, one of the largest ever discovered. Adding a functioning gold mining and refining sector to that portfolio gives the country a second precious-metals pillar alongside its diamond dominance, a diversification move that matters for an economy whose fiscal health has historically tracked closely with global diamond demand.
