Production kicks off at Maatla Resources’ Mmamabula Coal Project
Friday, February 06, 2026 | 660 Views |
Coming up: Production has finally started at Maatla’s coal project PIC: MAATLARESOURCES.COM
Maatla thus becomes the third licensed colliery in the country, its production coming at a time when prices for the mineral are depressed. Morupule Coal Mine and Minergy, the other two producers, have battled a prolonged downturn in the past three years, with the latter suspending operations last year whilst a major creditor sued for judicial management.
This week, HMS Bergbau AG announced that the company has completed the acquisition of 51% of Maatla Resources, which holds a mining licence for metallurgical coal covering approximately 45 square kilometres. Located in a well-established coal mining region with strong existing infrastructure, the licence area hosts expert-confirmed coal resources exceeding 94 million tonnes, based on exploration drilling conducted to date.
When the State cannot rely on its own machinery to pursue suspected wrongdoing, repairing that machinery must become a national priority.The establishment of a Special Investigations and Asset Recovery Task Force may help government respond to the immediate challenge. However, Botswana cannot afford to leave the Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) and the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) struggling whilst building...