02 Jul 2025

A decision has been made to conduct controlled flooding at south east extension shaft of the BCL Mine, chief executive officer of Botswana Geoscience Institute(BGI),   Mr Puso Akanyang says.

Speaking during kgotla meetings, Monday, where a task team set up by minister of minerals and energy, updated residents of Selebi Phikwe and peripheries on cessation of dewatering operations at south east extension shaft, he said that the controlled flooding would ensure that frequent tremors were curtailed if not controlled.

The process, he said, was birthed out of realisation that dewatering was costly on a mine not economically viable, yet continually bleeding government coffers while trying to address tremors. As a result, BGI boss said that they had since beefed up their team with experts on mine closure and controlled flooding from South Africa, strategically placed some seismographs to record seismic waves caused by earth quakes and some piezometers to record underground water pressure.

The interventions were born from complaints of ‘frightening’ tremors by the residents of Selebi Phikwe back in 2018 which set in motion investigations and assessments by BGI and partners to determine the causes of tremors and subsequent solutions. Now that the south east extension and shaft three of the BCL Mine had been deemed not economically viable and would be handed over to government at the completion of the liquidation process which is reportedly at the penultimate stage. Measures needed to be taken to ensure that management of the shaft did not continually bleed the government coffers and hence the controlled flooding.

Frequent dewatering at the said facilities, it is reported, was costly and the introduction of the controlled flooding, informed by scientific explanations, would help ease of the burden of dewatering the shaft. 

Mr Akanyang said that the watering pumps were left underground when some of the property and or goods were retrieved so as to aid in the controlled flooding by pumping out some water when it reaches a set level.

Prior to their investigations, during a time at which residents reported the tremors, Mr Akanyang said that there were no measures in place to control flooding in the mine and as water filled up, the tremors resulted.

Speaking at the same meetings, to rebuff complaints and grievances of the ex-employees and beneficiaries of the BCL Mine who were visibly charged, especially at Botshabelo kgotla, an official from Mineral Development Company Botswana, Mr JohnnyTshutlhedi apprised residents that the task team was not charged with the liquidation process which was a preserve of the liquidator.

He said that part of their task was to ensure that due process of closing the BCL Mine was followed and to assess and investigate possible benefits from the liquidated mine.

Having been set up in December 2024 and immediately meeting up with the portfolio minister, the task team, comprising some government departments and state-owned enterprises resumed their duty in Selebi-Phikwe late January to map a way for a due process of mine closure and beyond.

In its assessment, the task team amongst other things, would determine the value the closed mines could offer beyond liquidation and final closure especially considering the resources left at the facilities like mine school. “In some instances, there can be some tourism activities and or value derived from these closed shafts,” said Mr Tshutlhedi.

Alive to some sobering and debilitating impacts of BCL Mine liquidation and closure, Mr Tshutlhedi appealed for calm, saying that issues such as retrenchment packages of ex-miners and staff houses had been elevated to Office of President for address. At Botshabelo kgotla, some residents, ex-miners especially, digressed from the aim of the task team and sought answers on retrenchment packages following the liquidation and closure of the mine, called for ‘treading with extra caution’ when addressing mine liquidation and subsequent final closure since it was a ‘very sensitive matter.’

Some even questioned the rationale behind the task force, arguing that President Advocate Duma Boko promised a commission of inquiry on the closure of BCL mine in 2016. They argued that the inquiry superseded the task force set up by minister Bogolo Kenewendo. ENDS