Majwe scoops P15.7bn Jwaneng Mine contract
Mbongeni Mguni | Monday March 18, 2019 17:11
Known as Cut 9, the project will deepen the Jwaneng Mine pit to 830 metres from the current 650 metres, making it one of the world's deepest open pit diamond mines. The project will extend the life of Mine to 2035, and is expected to yield an estimated 53 million carats of rough diamonds from 44 million tonnes of treated material.
Majwe Mining, a joint venture between Bothakga Burrow Botswana and Thiess Botswana, was previously contracted for the P24bn Cut 8 project, where ore mining began three years ago. Majwe Mining handed over the Cut 8 project to Debswana late last year.
In a statement earlier this morning, Debswana officials said the Cut 9 project was commencing in earnest and the contract include citizen empowerment clauses to benefit Batswana over its duration.
These include the establishment of an Apprentice and Artisan Training Centre, development of a component rebuild centre which is expected to mature into a self-sustaining business within three years of the project launch and additional local business development initiatives.
Debswana chairperson, Bruce Cleaver said the extension would cement Botswana's place as a leading diamond nation for 'years to come'.
'With global consumer demand for diamonds reaching record levels in 2018, the extension will enable us to continue to meet the needs of our consumers all over the world,' he said.
For his part, Debswana managing director, Albert Milton said the emphasis in the contract was on building value for Batswana.
“We are committed on delivering on the citizen economic empowerment goals and will focus on training our people, developing their skills and harnessing technology to create further safety and efficiency improvements,” he said.
Debswana executives have previously said the project was being funded off the balance sheet without recourse to debt.