"No coal depletionm threats in Botswana"

Briefing members of the House of Chiefs who toured the coalmine last week, Bagopi described the coal business as "very much" viable, saying the commodity could sustain the country even in the event of diamond depletion.He said coal was a bulk commodity that needed to be mined in large volumes in order to realise a profit. Coal also required specific infrastructure to transport to the market, hence the need to have railway lines to places like Walvis Bay to access markets.

In addition to Botswana, Bagopi said South Africa's northern province had also shown interest in the coal mined at Morupule. "Indications are that South Africa will at some point need our coal resources while electricity generated from our country would also expand our markets, given their population," he said.