Botswana’s rough diamond exports fell by 68 per cent in the second quarter of the year as the coronavirus pandemic hit demand while global travel restrictions hurt trading, this is according to data released by the central bank on Friday. The central bank report showed exports of diamonds from Debswana, …

MD and CEO of ASX-listed Sandfire Resources’ T3 copper/silver project, KARL SIMICH, reckons the company boasts the benefits of a large resource, with uncompromised mineralisation. Sandfire had for some time been investigating global opportunities in the base metals space. In the MOD Resources’ T3 project, it recognised the significant value from regional exploration already …

Global coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdowns and travel bans have crippled Botswana’s mining and tourism, the country’s primary foreign currency earners. This has led to a trade deficit, the difference between the value of imported and exported goods, rose to P4.1 billion in May, further eating away at the country’s precarious foreign …

GV Gold, also known as Vysochaishy, one of the fastest-growing Russian gold mining companies, has rolled out the Zyfra OpenMine fleet management system (FMS) at its Ugakhan Mine in Russia’s Irkutsk Region in Siberia. The implementation of the project has resulted in a year-on-year ore production volume increase of 11%. …

De Beers Group has donated a PCR testing machine worth 1.7 million pula to the Ministry of Health and Wellness.   Receiving the donation at the National Health Laboratory recently, the Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Lemogang Kwape thanked Debeers for the good gesture saying the machine will help …

Government has Kenmare resources environmental, social and health impact assessment (ESHIA) for the purpose-built road to Pilivili at Moma Titanium Minerals Mine. As part of its growth strategy to increase production to 1.2 million tonnes per annum of ilmenite from 2021, Kenmare is relocating its Wet Concentrator Plant (WCP) B …

Rio Tinto has approved a $749 million (A$1 billion) investment in its existing Greater Tom Price operations to help sustain the production capacity of its world-class iron ore business in the Pilbara of Western Australia. The investment in the Western Turner Syncline Phase 2 (WTS2) mine will facilitate mining of …

First Quantum Minerals (FQM) believes the private sector investment in renewable energy will inevitably play an increasingly important role in meeting the country’s energy deficit. Speaking before a Parliamentary Committee on Energy, FQM Head of Government Affairs John Gladston said it was clear that the energy crisis has been created …

Russian companies have offered African countries solutions based on the internet of things (IoT) and artificial intelligence (AI) to boost mining production. The offers follow the realisation that traditional means are becoming increasingly expensive, with productivity falling due to technical maintenance costs, unreliable equipment, reactive troubleshooting, a lower equipment utilisation …

Botswana believes that the Energy Resource Governance Initiative (ERGI) is the key to strengthen the country’s mining sector. Botswana recently joined the ERGI, an initiative meant to support the discovery and development of mineral reserves of strategic metals used to make battery electric vehicles. “As a Botswana based manganese developer …