Mining sector targets import substitution as next frontier

Tuesday, July 07, 2026 | 110 Views |

Botswana's mining industry is pushing to transform billions of pula in annual procurement spending into a new engine for economic diversification, arguing that local manufacturing and import substitution represent one of the country's biggest untapped opportunities beyond diamonds.

Speaking at the Future of Mining Summit in Gaborone last week, mining executives outlined a strategy that would see the sector leverage its vast purchasing power to develop citizen-owned suppliers, build local manufacturing capacity and reduce Botswana's dependence on imported goods and services.

The approach, increasingly being championed by the Botswana Chamber of Mines (BCM), seeks to reposition mining companies from being merely extractors of minerals to becoming anchor customers for emerging industries.

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