Botswana Focus
 Botswana, besides boasting the beautiful Okavango Delta and the Kalahari Desert, enjoys high standards of economic stability, education and health care, which are unequalled in sub-Saharan Africa.
Botswana is one of Africa's success stories. After independence from Britain in 1966, 3 of the world's richest diamond-bearing formations were discovered within its borders and the country has transformed itself from one of the poorest nations in the world to a rapidly developing country. Today, diamonds account for over one-third of total GDP. Botswana is a proud member of the British Commonwealth and English is the official and prevalent language spoke there. A leading mining title system and the rule of law prevail.
Landlocked and about the same size as France, most of the country, apart from the Okavango and deciduous forest near the Zimbabwe border, is covered with scrub bush and savanna teeming with free-ranging wildlife, making Botswana a must for the game tourist.
Botswana has a wonderful mineral endowment and many Australian mineral explorers have been attracted to the country in the past ten years, including Discovery Metals Ltd (formerly Discovery Nickel) and Diamonex Ltd which will present to the Sydney Mining Club on their views of Botswana as a place to go exploring and mining for diamonds, base and precious metals and coal and gas. New MD Brad Sampson of Discovery Metals and Dan O'Neill MD of Diamonex will convey their personal experiences in exploring and operating there.
The first-ever High Commissioner to Australia from Botswana, His Excellency Mr Molosiwa Selepeng will speak briefly and Mr Ian Daymond, recently appointed Honorary Consul for Botswana in NSW, will introduce the speakers. |
Diamonex is focused on developing the Lerala diamond resource that lies within a region of Botswana and South Africa that produces 30% of the world's diamonds by value (over US$4.5 billion/pa). The project comprises five diamondiferous kimberlite pipes that were discovered in the late 1980's. The Indicated Diamond Resource to a depth of 110m from surface is 13.5 million tonnes at a grade of 27.4 carats per hundred tonnes, representing approximately 3.7 million carats of diamonds. Considerable potential exists to further increase the total resource at depth in the existing pipes and through planned exploration on several priority targets close to the existing project. Diamonex has completed a feasibility study and commenced development of this project. First production is targeted for first quarter 2008 at 330,000 carats pa and a capital cost of A$20M.
Discovery Metals is concentrating on the assessment of the Maun Copper Project in NW Botswana and the Dikoloti Nickel Project in NE Botswana. The inferred copper resource at the Zeta and Petra prospects at Maun have recently increased by 60% to 32.5 million tonnes at 1.4% Cu equivalent. The company plans to complete the pre-feasibility study for the Maun Copper Project by the end of the first quarter 2008. The Dikoloti Nickel Project covers an area surrounding the nickel deposits of BCL Limited in the Selebi-Phikwe region of NE Botswana and occurs within 45km of BCL's concentrating and smelter facilities, the largest nickel processing facility in Africa. Dikoloti currently has an Inferred Resource of 4.7Mt @ 0.7% Ni and 0.5% Cu at a cut-off of 0.5% Ni and is at an early stage of exploration.