23 May 2017

Despite some of the shocks that the mining industry has experienced over the past few years, the mineral sector continues to be an important employer.

In an interview with BOPA, the acting commissioner of Mines in the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Green Technology and Energy Security, Ms Cellinah Mogojwa said the mining sector continued to be one of the biggest employers after government.

“Although we have admittedly lost jobs particularly due to the situation at the BCL mine in Selebi Phikwe last year, the mining industry continues to employ over 16 500 people, of whom only 445 are expatriates,” Ms Mogojwa said.

She said her ministry also screened foreigners who sought employment in the industry to ensure they were of the right calibre and did not take the place of equally qualified Batswana.

“We also try to get Batswana to be active participants in the mining sector.

We have realised that most Batswana do not have the funds to engage in large-scale mining, which is highly capital intensive and involves huge start-up capital and heavy plant machinery that is costly.

As such we encourage citizens to start with sandstone and quarry mining,” Ms Mogojwa said.

She added that since her ministry had realised that prospecting could also be a costly exercise, the Botswana Geoscience Institute (BGI) bore the cost of feasibility studies, which allowed local entrepreneurs to focus on the actual sandstone mining.

Ms Mogojwa also said that the mining industry as a whole provided Batswana with huge business opportunities that could be explored.

“We work closely with the Chamber of Mines and we have got to a point where all protective clothing that is worn in our mines is sourced locally.

The mines procure many goods and services, and there are many other opportunities for citizens to explore.

We have a strategy that covers the years 2017-2023, through which we want most of the services utilized in the mines to be procured locally,” Ms Mogojwa said.

She further said that the country had huge reserves of coal, which could be utilised to generate power and produce different petroleum products.

“Coal could potentially fuel different industries that can generate jobs and boost the economy, and these are currently being explored and exploited,” Ms Mogojwa said.

The efforts of the ministry in this regard are part of the broader plans to ensure job creation and eradicate poverty, among the five main pillars of government pledge to its citizens. ENDS