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Production at Botswana’s first opencast colliery to start this month

MASAMA MINE
Masama is the first open-cast coal mine in Botswana, and Minergy worked with the Department of Environmental Affairs to develop a regulatory framework

MASAMA MINE Masama is the first open-cast coal mine in Botswana, and Minergy worked with the Department of Environmental Affairs to develop a regulatory framework

7th December 2018

By: Schalk Burger

Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

     

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The first opencast coal mine in Botswana, Masama, located about 70 km outside Gaborone, has sprung to life following the awarding of the mining licence at the end of August. The first soil was dug on September 9.

The mine is expected to start selling thermal coal in the first week of February and to produce an initial 1.2-million tons of coal a year, before eventually ramping up to producing 2.4-million tons of coal a year. The mine had reserves of 390-million tons and a life-of-mine in excess of 100 years, BSE-listed coal miner Minergy CEO Andre Bojé said during a site visit to the mine, in November.

Masama mine manager Ken Tawana detailed the work done in the past three months, which involved the first two blasting operations and the development of the boxcut down to 10 m, with a further 10 m to 15 m still to go to reach the first seam, which was 4 m to 4.5 m thick. Once the face had been opened, the mine would expand.

Once this seam has been mined, the mine would descend a further 12 m to reach the second seam. The first five-year phase of the mine involves an 8.4 km2 area.

The mine is shallow, with a subcrop of 20 m to 130 m and has few faults and no dolerite.

First coal mining is expected to start on December 14, and 100 000 t a month will be mined. The mine will use a mobile crusher to support operations until its crushing plant is completed.

Minergy had completed its modular dense-medium separation cyclone washing plant, which would be moved onto site the following week. The plant would recover and reuse 70% of the water it used, said operations executive director Martin Bartle.

Botswana and Minergy could play a significant role in meeting the rising demand for coal, with a supply deficit and strong demand evident in the market, said Bojé.

Additionally, the company would build water and wastewater treatment plants for the mine and had already started construction of the 300 000 ℓ reservoir to store raw water. Minergy had upgraded the main access road from the village of Medie and was tarring it, but would also build an 18 km road to the main road without travelling through the surrounding villages.

The company would truck the coal to a rail siding near Gaborone and then move the product by rail to its markets, which were expected to be mainly international and African export markets.

Bartle explained the significant impact the development of the mine had on the local Medie and Lentsweletau villages. The company replaced the Medie borehole, which had become saline, with two new boreholes and was exploring for more. The company was bringing 4 MVA of electricity to Medie, which did not have electricity, starting with the electrification of the village school and clinic during December or early January.

It employed local people to do site and bush clearing and had trained local people, who constituted the majority of the 190 people on site. Local people also used the rocks from road and site clearing to reinforce the roadside and waterways to prevent erosion.

The mining contract was awarded to joint venture company Jarcon, which comprises South African mining contracting company IPP and Botswana company Giant Plant. The washing plant was built by Pentalin Processing. Explosives company AEL was managing the explosives for the blasting.

Minergy, which aims to list on the Aim during the next year, used drones to survey the site and to verify progress on the project. The company had also measured the seismic impact of its blasts in Medie, but it had not registered any significant effect at the village during and after the first two blasts.

Additionally, the company had dug out and stored 5 m of topsoil, relocated large trees and had bought bonemeal and trained locals on how to replant the trees. Once the mine had advanced sufficiently, the mined area would be filled and the topsoil replaced.

Edited by Martin Zhuwakinyu
Creamer Media Senior Deputy Editor

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