Botswana Mining Review Comprehensive Coverage of the Progress and Achievements in the Mining Sector
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The future of Africa’s mining industry will be shaped not only by the minerals beneath the continent’s soil but by who has the opportunity to build, lead and benefit from the industry above it. That message is emerging strongly from the 8th annual Women in Mining Conference (WIMCON) 2026, running from 24-25 September 2026, where women across Botswana’s mining ecosystem are bringing perspectives spanning engineering, technology, finance, procurement, safety, health, law, entrepreneurship and operations.
Business Botswana Chief Executive Officer Tumi Mbaakanyi has called for a stronger focus on creating meaningful economic opportunities for women across the mining value chain, urging stakeholders to move beyond conversations about inclusion towards practical pathways into markets, finance, skills and business ownership. Her call reflects a wider shift in the conversation, from women’s participation in mining to their ability to influence how value is created and distributed across the sector.
For entrepreneurs such as Ada Thela, the Founder and Managing Director of Zoe Diamonds and Tshepiso Thandiwe Mopipi, Founder and Managing Director of Mega Mining Equipment Sales, that opportunity is rooted in enterprise and ownership. Their businesses demonstrate the expanding role of women in diamond manufacturing, rough trading, mining supplies and services, while highlighting the potential for citizen-owned companies to participate more deeply in mining supply chains.
The technical frontier is equally important. Mining engineers, technology specialists and emerging professionals including Game Mpodi, Founder and CEO of Comiine; Gofaone Tsie of Barloworld Botswana; Warona Keoneeng of Redpath Mining and Agatha Molosiwa of Sandfire Motheo represent a generation entering roles shaped by automation, digitalisation, mine planning, equipment performance and operational optimisation.
Professor of Information Systems and Digital Business, Ray M. Kekwaletswe, brings the conversation into the future mine, where artificial intelligence, robotics and intelligent systems are reshaping work. He argues that the challenge is ensuring women, young professionals and African talent are equipped not merely to participate in that transformation but to lead and shape it.
Leadership also extends beyond technical roles. The President of Women in Mining South Africa and CPM Application Manager at Anglo American, Mogaleadi Seabela,brings a regional perspective on technology, organisational change and diversity, while Fatima-Joyce Packery, the Chief Executive Officer of F’AFRICA MINERALS, brings more than 25 years of mining experience and a focus on women’s ownership and leadership.
The social dimensions of mining remain equally central. Lucara Botswana’s Angel Smith has highlighted the responsibility of mining companies to create lasting value in host communities, with skills, local enterprises, diversified incomes and stronger institutions extending beyond the life of a mine. “ You want a community that thrives beyond mine life,” said Smith. That broader understanding of value runs through WIMCON 2026, from occupational health and safety to mental wellbeing, procurement, governance and local economic participation.
With Lucara Botswana as Title Partner, the conference provides a platform for voices across generations and disciplines. Together, they point towards a mining industry where women are not simply entering established spaces but helping define what those spaces become. Africa’s mining future is therefore also a question of agency: who designs its systems, owns its enterprises, leads its operations and determines how mineral wealth translates into lasting opportunity.
