Save BCL, save Phikwe
Dithapelo Keorapetse | Friday October 21, 2016 18:43
Employees have already received letters notifying them of termination of their employment. On the reasons for liquidation, It is said that a Russian company which used to own BCL, Norilsk, is owed about P3 billion being a 50% stake BCL acquired in Nkomati. We are told that Norilsk demanded its payment over Nkomati-Tati Nickel mines deal and threatened to explore all legal avenues. In other words we are told that the seizure of operations at BCL and or liquidation is an emergency.
The decision has sparked panic, anxiety and a sad confusion among BCL wokers, their family members, business community and the general populace of the town. The decision threatens the very existence of the town. There has been several public and indoor meetings over the issue in which the government sought to explain things and the more they try to do that the more they don't make sense.
Batswana are currently under a deluge of propaganda from the state; that BCL shafts are deep and of low grade and that the government has sustained or assisted the mine for 37 years out of 40 years. We are made to believe that there's no better alternative than voluntary provisional liquidation.
The government should rescind its decision to liquidate BCL. The government of Botswana should enter into a payment plan contract with Norilsk about the P3 billion owed by BCL. The mine must then be opened. President Ian Khama should have declared a state of emergency and convene parliament to specifically to discuss BCL and come up with a solution.
New information leaked from management reports suggest that there is business case for BCL; with business process reengineering and or restructuring and other interventions including P2 billion recapitalisation, the mine can survive and by extension the town of Selebi-Phikwe. Selebi and Selebi North shafts have high grade copper ore which can be mined, the newly found Maebele ore can also be commissioned and mined. The smelter plant can process ores from Selebi, Selebi North, Maebele, Tati Nickel (Phoenix and Selkirk) and Nkomati. There's business case ,contrary to what we are being told.
We are where we are because government has neglected Phikwe and made empty promises; they located the second university BIUST and the now defunct Glass Manufacturing Plant in Palapye, College of Applied Arts in Oodi, and failed to expand the Technical College.
The government has dismally failed to build a copper-electro refinery plant for value addition into the matte from BCL Smelter plant. They failed to diversify Phikwe economy away from mining. They didn't prepare the town for post mining and now they claim this is an emergency.
People should forget SPEDU, it is a big fraud; a crucible of corruption, ineffectiveness and inefficiency. Ask them how much they've been paid as salaries and allowances since inception and ask how many jobs they've helped to create.
Pula Steel smelting plant is a scam; it'll soon be closed forever, steel prices have long collapsed before its opening or commissioning and there are stockpiles in Africa and the world and Chinese imports. Steel plants have been closed eg of Arcelor Mittal Steel. Furthermore, Pula Steel depends on scrap metals for, or as raw materials. How did the government hope to make profit from a situation like that?
BCL is facing liquidation in part because of Polaris II strategy, which was sold to the residents and Batswana at large as the future of BCL and Phikwe.
How can the future dig one's grave? Besides new information from management, records suggests that Nkomati was prepared to pay P300 million for their concentrates to be smelted at BCL and in turn BCL would pay P3 billion debt to Norilsk. We are told that MDCB screwed everything up. Their unreasonable demand of reduction of the P3 billion debt messed up everything. Some of the people in charge of MDCB are said to have a blemished records of over four liquidations from their previous companies. They've no clue about mining. BCL has presented what they call US$ 4 per Pound Plan business strategy. This plan was okayed by a South African-based MCC for government to satisfy itself of its veracity.
There's a big lie told by His Hon the Vice President that government has bailed out BCL for 37 out of 40 years; that's a lie, last time BCL was bailed out by government was in 2002, 13 years ago and only guaranteed a loan in 2016. The mine has been struggling a bit, but profitable until recently.
When Montwedi Mphathi left BCL, it was strong and had cash reserves. The other lie is that BCL ore from shafts is of low grade, this has been told by Hon Mokaila several times; that's a lie. Selebi North has ore resources in excess of 4 million tones at average grade of 1% nickel and copper, compared to say Nkomati with 0.37% Nickel. BCL can be saved and Phikwe can be saved, what is needed is political will and sadly that can't be found at government enclave.
Furthermore, the official total BCL resources stand at 25m tonnes at grades of 0.66%Ni and 0.77%Cu. From these resource figures, around 2.7Million tonnes of measured resources at 0.86%Ni and 0.98%Cu, have been declared. This is high grade ore that can be mined at a profit even at the current metal prices. The Nkomati resource is at 0.37%Ni which is less than half of the BCl grade. The deepest shaft at BCL is at 1,540ml whilst the shalowest production level is at 650ml with the potential to go up to 450ml. Depth at BCL is not an issue as other base metal producing mines are mining in excess of 3km. BCL must be saved and Phikwe must be saved.