SA state lender studies Botswana coal project

According to the Department of Geological Survey, the Botlhapatlou area is covered by three prospecting licences for coal all issued to Strata (Pty) Ltd. The officials said the area could possess coal and other related energy minerals such as Coal Bed Methane.

IDC Head of the Mining Strategic Business Unit, Abel Malinga, was last week quoted as saying preliminary estimates indicate that Botlhapatlou could "contain more coal than Mmamabula," which has an estimated resource of two billion tonnes. Malinga said coal from Botlhapatlou would be used to fuel South Africa's thermal power stations and reduce power supply imbalance in the region.