Jwaneng Mine reveals its biggest secret
Thalefang Charles | Friday June 18, 2021 14:54
The first two mineworkers to set eyes on the 1,098-carat diamond unveiled this week, could not believe what they were seeing. The once in a lifetime find is still reverberating around global headlines, being the third-largest gem-quality diamond ever discovered. That it came after 39 years of operations at Jwaneng Mine makes the find even more momentous. “We were going through the larger material, sorting it, when I saw that stone,” recalls Orakeng Kefentse. “I was in shock because it was my first time seeing such and I ran to my colleague to have a look.”
The two sorters then called their supervisor and other superiors who took the stone to a secure vault. Word soon began spreading that the stone was indeed a diamond, a rock of such proportions it looks more like a tennis ball.
Edwin Elias, Debswana’s Head of Ore Processing, explains that the company’s use of world-leading technology and processes means that nothing can be missed when diamond-bearing soils are analysed at the company’s mines. The process from the trucks scooping up the earth in the belly of the pit, to the crushing and processing that yields diamonds, has been thoroughly refined over the decades, with new technology and methods introduced. Debswana now prides itself on having some of the most advanced technology and methods in use in the world.
“We blast kimberlite ore from the pit, and then it goes through various processes of crushing, scrubbing (enhanced cleaning to remove any loose material or clay within the ore body), separation and then through to a recovery process where we use high technology through the use of X-ray to recover diamonds and then separate into various sizes,” he explains.
Elias adds: “This is the journey that the large diamond we recovered took. “What actually happened with regard to how our colleagues found it is that the diamond was on the oversize collection bin, which is sealed and in a highly protected area. “Once the product is collected there it also goes through our normal sorting processes.” This week, senior Debswana executives, led by acting managing director Lynette Armstrong, unveiled the stone to President Mokgweetsi Masisi, First Lady Neo Masisi and a full sitting of Cabinet. Under the agreement between the government and De Beers, who are equal equity partners in Debswana, the stone will either be sold through the De Beers’ sales system or through the government’s Okavango Diamond Company.
“It has yet to be valued and it has to go through the process,” Armstrong said at the unveiling. “The Diamond Trading Centre Botswana will give us the first value in the coming weeks. “However, in terms of sentimental value, it certainly has a lot.” It is expected that whichever route the stone takes to market, intensive efforts will be made to ensure maximum value is extracted from the diamond. The second-largest gem-quality diamond ever found the 1,109 carats Lesedi la Rona uncovered in 2015, sold for $53 million (P583 million) after an exhaustive global search for the right price and the right buyer. Armstrong said the marketing of the Debswana diamond could include an international roadshow involving Masisi in his global engagements and alternatively some form of storage where the stone could be viewed. For the government, the diamond is not only a matter of national pride, but the proceeds from it are timely in a year in which the budget deficit is expected to reach P6 billion. The discovery of the stone is also a vote of confidence that despite the declining resources at Debswana’s mines, the soils there still hold much treasure.
Jwaneng Mine is in the process of deepening its pit even further, under the Cut 9 project, which will be the last level of open cast mining before operations go underground. Orapa Mine, which is also being deepened in the Cut 3 project, uncovered one of the world’s largest blue diamonds in 2019. Are the mines getting better with age? Elias, who has 20 years of industry experience, 18 of those spent in Debswana’s ore operations, explains. “Recovery of these diamonds is a result of a combination of our endowment and years of industry learning including improved mining and processing practices and new technology,” explains Elias. “I guess the issue is as we mine and looking at various technology advancement they are becoming more and more sophisticated, and through that, we will be able to get exceptional results.” The discovery at Jwaneng has also kept up morale amongst workers, he says.
“Our employees are excited by the prospect of recovering such large and valuable diamonds,” Elias says. “People are happy that our country is endowed with such wealth.
“There is now stronger belief in some of our Debswana 2024 One Dream, One Team strategy projects such as the Large Diamond Plant.”