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Letlhakane, meaning "little reeds", is owned by Debswana, a partnership between the De Beers company and the government of Botswana. [2] It is the second oldest of four mines operated by the company, having begun operations in 1975. [2] Letlhakane is of open pit construction. In 2003, the mine produced 1.06 million carats (212 kg) of diamond
In 2022, mining accounted for about 16% of Botswana's real gross domestic product (GDP). [6] Most of Botswana’s mineral industry consists of diamonds. [7] Beyond diamonds, Botswana also boasts abundant mineral resources such as coal, copper, nickel, and soda ash, along with granite, further diversifying its mining sector.
This list of mines in Botswana is subsidiary to the list of mines article and lists working, defunct and future mines in the country and is organised by the primary mineral output. For practical purposes stone, marble and other quarries may be included in this list.
The Jwaneng diamond mine is the richest diamond mine in the world, [2] and also the second largest in the world. [3] It is nicknamed "the Prince of Mines", [2] and is located in south-central Botswana about 170 kilometers (110 mi) southwest of the city of Gaborone.
Open-pit mining, also known as open-cast or open-cut mining and in larger contexts mega-mining, [1] is a surface mining technique that extracts rock or minerals from the earth. Open-pit mines are used when deposits of commercially useful ore or rocks are found near the surface where the overburden is relatively thin. In contrast, deeper mineral ...
This was hand-excavated to 201 m (660 ft) by 1911, and the hand-dug pit was sightly larger than the Big Hole. The Palabora Open Pit – mechanically excavated by Palabora Mining Company, in Phalaborwa, Limpopo Province. The pit is 898m deep and 1846m across on top. [5] Voorspoed diamond mine
The mine was discovered on 1 March 1967, a year after Botswana's independence, by a team of De Beers geologists, including Manfred Marx, Jim Gibson and led by Dr. Gavin Lamont. [2] It is the oldest of four mines operated by the company, and began operations in July 1971 and its first production was 1,438,168 carats (287,633.6 g).
Notably, "Lesedi La Rona" (Tswana term for "Our Light") [12] was then the world's second largest gem-quality rough diamond, following the Cullinan Diamond recovered in 1905 in the present-day South Africa. [12] [11] At the same time, it was also Botswana's largest, surpassing that found at the Jwaneng Mine in 1993. [10]