"Cut 3" at Orapa will extend mine life to year 2055

On occasion of the 50^th anniversary of the Orapa Letlhakane and Damtshaa mines, Botswana's Weekend Post interviewed Bakani Motlhabani, General Manager of Debswana, the firm that manages, among others, the famous Orapa Mine, one of the world's largest diamond mines. Debswana 50 year's celebrations were hosted at its Gaborone head office.

In his remarks, Motlhabani explained that diamonds will be mined at Orapa until the year 2050.

He explained that the three major diamond site produce diverse diamond products, both in volume and quality. "We have the fancy gems from the Letlhakane and Damtshaa mines and the industrial diamonds from Orapa Mine. From 1971, to the end of 2018, we have recovered approximately 400 million carats" he said.

The Orapa Mine became fully operational in July 1971 when it was officially opened by the then President of Botswana, Sir Seretse Khama. Currently Orapa is mining at a depth of 250 meters and is expected to reach 450 meters by 2026.

Currently the Orapa mine is relocating a huge spread dump on the south side of the pit to the far western side to give way for Cut 3 core extraction boreholes. Cut 3 will involve stripping away waste at the bottom of the mine, as well as widening and deepening the pit. The mine is expected to increase its fleet of trucks from the current 23 to 58. Works to give way for Cut 3 also include relocation of Training Centre and Primary Crashers, the Weekend Post reported.

Neo Moroka, the resident director of De Beers Holdings Botswana, said that the 50th Anniversary brings another opportunity for Debswana to pursue global benchmark levels and to continue to play a pivotal role in Botswana's next economic transformation agenda. "This is an opportunity to consider how our iconic company can continue to be an enabler in our common journey towards realizing the goals of our Long Term 2036 Vision," he said.