He was addressing the media last Thursday following a tour of the company’s operations. Botash the largest producer of natural sodium and related products in Africa, is located in Sua Pan, within the Makgadikgadi area. The pan is one of three large within Makgadikgadi and is considered the home of flamingos in the Southern African region. When Botash was commissioned over 30 years ago, there were fears that its operations would spell the end of the flamingo population. The Sua Pan is considered one of the largest breeding grounds for flamingos in the world.
Phatshwane said that the growing number of flamingos in the pan is a result of Botash’s sustainable mining practices. “In the mid-80s, when this project was proposed, some environmentalists predicted the end of flamingos. As it turns out, the population of flamingos has increased significantly since the mine’s commissioning. “This demonstrates the true impact of responsible mineral extraction,” Phatshwane said although he didn't provide readily available figures to back his assertions. However, various conservation groups, such as the ‘Biodiversity Foundation for Africa,’ have recently posited that the number of flamingos breeding on the Sua Pan often exceeds the total estimated numbers for Southern Africa, which are approximately 47,000 Greater Flamingos and 26,000 Lesser Flamingos per breeding season.
