11 Sep 2023

Jwaneng Mine’s plans to commence underground mining has opened partnership opportunities for machinery and equipment companies across the globe.

Owing to the unsustainability of the current open pit mining, Jwaneng Mine has embarked on plans to increase its production capacity through underground operations effective next year, which is expected to extend the mine’s lifespan to 2052.

In an interview during a mine tour by German Chamber of Commerce recently, Putzmeister Concrete Pumps GmbH-Germany key application manager, Mr Peter Peschken said the transition from open pit to underground mining created a good market for machinery suppliers, while at the same time opening opportunities for possible partnerships and investment.

“The tour is a fact-finding mission and we are here to get a little bit more knowledge about what is going on here and there is a very interesting market because a lot of mines are now trying to go underground,” he said.

He said as a company that had supplied mining machinery to various mines in African countries such as Mali, Zambia, Congo and Tanzania, they were looking forward to forging similar partnerships with Botswana to support Jwaneng Mine’s underground operations.

For her part, Jwaneng Mine acting general manager, Ms Naiko Ralebala said the advancement of mining technology was a priority in their operations for optimal output. Ms Ralebala noted that the visit by German Chamber of Commerce representatives was a welcome development that could contribute towards sustainable business.

“Technology advancement is on us so if we don’t do anything about it, we will get disrupted. We are always more than happy to welcome people who come up with new mining technologies so that we can be more sustainable in terms of our business,” she said.

She appreciated that the visiting companies were also willing to partner with local companies for skills exchange that could grow the Botswana manufacturing sector.

“There are possible partnerships on artificial intelligence needed for the mining machinery. Their expertise is needed to minimise spillage during ore processing,” she said. Ends