The 'overburden' concealing Botswana's 'black gold'

The brief picture is this: Of the 118 licences in issue for coal and coal-bed methane (CBM), only 30 percent are active and of these, CIC Energy's Mmamabula Energy Project is among the most advanced.

Demand for energy minerals rose by 50 percent last year and coal is increasingly viewed as the future of energy in southern Africa. However, between possessing the massive resources and developing them on a sustainable basis lies a labyrinth of challenges.