11 Nov 2025

Botswana’s mining sector is evolving rapidly with new strategic minerals entering the fold alongside diamonds, said President Advocate Duma Boko has said. 

Delivering his second State-of- the-Nation Address on Monday, Adv. Boko stated that the Letlhakane Uranium Project, operated by Lotus Resources was undergoing a major infill drilling campaign to refine its resources and support a P6.2 billion mine plan targeting three million pounds of Uranium annually. 

In Kanye, he said, Giyani metals was developing the K.Hill Battery-Grade Manganese Project, having secured a mining license and a Special Economic Zone Investor License. 

“The project aims to supply high-purity manganese for electric vehicle batteries, aligning Botswana with global clean energy supply chains,” he said. 

Also, President Boko said Iron Ore was also becoming an important resource in the diversification mix, with projects like the Ngamiland Iron Ore Project set to boost Botswana’s steel industry. 

The developments, he said, signalled a broader shift toward industrial minerals, green steel and value added beneficiation as well as Uranium, Manganese and Iron Ore forming an emerging triad of opportunity in Botswana’s mining renaissance. 

“Botswana is endowed with a diverse range of mineral resources suitable for small scale mining including Gold, Copper, industrial minerals and graphite. 

To address existing policy and operational gaps, the President said Geoscience Institute was developing a comprehensive and pragmatic small scale mining framework for Botswana aimed at facilitating citizen economic empowerment through viable and environmentally sustainable activities. 

Regarding the Debswana mining licences which has been extended to 2054, President  Boko said it would enable Debswana to deliver long-term value from its existing mining assets as well as mine life extension projects. 

“Another key feature of our new agreements is the increased focus on marketing natural diamonds to preserve the long-term value of our diamonds assets, a priority that becomes even more critical during periods of market pressure,” he said. 

He said government was partnering with De Beers to plan, fund and execute strategic marketing initiatives to enhance natural diamonds desirability and demand. Such initiatives, he said, included the Desert diamonds, recently launched in the United States ahead of the crucial end of year selling season. ENDS