10 October 2007
editorial
Judging from activities of the past few months, it appears Botswana is on the threshold of an unprecedented bustle of exploitation of its vast - and until now, unknown - wealth in mineral resources.
Local and foreign companies have been carrying out a number of mining explorations in the process of which discoveries of unknown deposits were made.
New technologies are also resulting in the rehabilitation and expansion of a few old mines, some of which had long been abandoned. The area around Francistown is already benefiting considerably from this work as more and more people there find jobs on the mines and associated industries. An offshoot that comes to mind is the current boom in the property market in Francistown.
In the long term, new investments attracted by these discoveries and the rehabilitation of old projects are expected to benefit the wider economy.
What is gratifying is that the government has given prospecting licences to an unpecedented diversity of players, not just the usual names.
Tawana, a company listed on the Johannesburg and the Australian stock exchanges, has been awarded a licence for drilling at its Orapa prospect. We hope these explorations will turn out positive results.
Similarly, Discovery Metals has announced positive results from an on-going drilling programme, boosting the potential of the 5.5-kilometre long zone of copper-silver mineralisation at its Maun copper project.
Significantly, Discovery Metals has announced that it has raised the necessary capital to complete feasibility studies on the project.
Added to this is the possibility of the commissioning of Botswana's first uranium mine after the discovery of high-grade mineralisation of uranium near Serule.
Botswana has every reason to be excited about these explorations because the current level of the country's development has largely been achieved through mining-generated revenues.
Another noteworthy development on the same subject is the comment by the Minister of Minerals, Energy and Water Resources, Ponatshego Kedikilwe, that mines are generally making good progress in the localisation of senior positions. This is a positive step, signifying that Batswana are coming up to snuff in the skills required for holding such positions. While we acknowledge that Batswana still need to learn from expatriates who still hold positions demanding top end skills and expertise on the mines and elsewhere, we believe it is equally important to devise programmes of skills transfer - and to stick to them.
We commend the Department of Mines for keeping a keen eye on the localisation process at the mines to ensure a type of transfer that is effected without compromising productivity.
Today's Thought
The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value.
-Theodore Roosevelt
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