Thato Moseki
26 May 2009
The expansion of the Jwaneng Mine pit, known as the Cut 8 Project, is expected to provide a shot in the arm for employment when more than 1 000 contractors for converge on the mining town.
The project involves the widening and deepening of the existing Jwaneng pit as a short-term alternative to going underground. According to information reaching Mmegi, the project will strip 713 million tonnes of waste to expose 75 million tonnes of ore and 95 million carats.
This will take place at the rate of 122 million tonnes of waste per year. Cut 8 will also increase pit depth to 650 metres, necessitating more mining equipment, employees and infrastructure. Widening the pit will result in mining out areas where mining is currently taking place and where plant infrastructure is situated. It will add seven years to Jwaneng Mine's lifespan.
Officials close to the project say the multi-billion pula project will involve 1 000 contractors while more employees will join the current 700. A member of the project's Consultation Team, Eugene Evans, says one of the challenges Jwaneng will face is accommodation.
"Financing housing development by Debswana, as is currently the case, is no longer considered viable," Evans is quoted as saying in the Jwaneng Bulletin. "The company has feasible options on how to mitigate challenges around accommodation and it wants local authorities to give input and assist in reaching a resolution."
In a recent interview with Mmegi, the President of the Real Estate Institute of Botswana, Montshwari Mooketsi, said Jwaneng's property market would strengthen across residential and commercial purchases and rentals.
He noted that the value of property in Jwaneng Township was higher than in most similar places due to Jwaneng's perennial shortage of accommodation.
"Mine workers in Jwaneng are housed by Debswana and even if mining stooped, the mine still has to be maintained and cared for," Mookesti said. "People doing this job have to stay in Jwaneng and they push the demand up."
It is also expected that the Cut 8 project will benefit other downstream industries such as retailing, banking, tourism, entertainment and motor engineering.
Meanwhile, local engineering company Geoflux is carrying out a Social Impact Assessment (SIA) study of Cut 8.
The SIA will look at the impact of the Cut 8 project on the lives of the people of Jwaneng and the town as a whole. To this end, consultative workshops have been held enabling interaction between Debswana, the SIA consultants and the community around the Cut 8 project. One such meeting was held two weeks ago at which stakeholders present expressed their support for the expansion of the Jwaneng Mine pit.
The Deputy Tribal Secretary of Jwaneng, Lorato Mogopodi, told the Jwaneng Bulletin: "While there are numerous social challenges posed by the project, I'm delighted that the expansion of the mine means infrastructure development and job creation for the township and surrounding villages."
Cut 8 Project is one of a few projects that Debswana is proceeding with after the company cut project spending to cope with the fall in diamond prices.
The diamond giant views the project as one that will "contribute to its growth and sustainability".
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