Canberra — Botswana continues to cement her position in the mining sector with one of the world's best investor-friendly business environments, President Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi has said.
Delivering a keynote address to mark the official opening of the 21st Africa Down Under (ADU) Conference in Western Australia Mining Capital - Perth on Wednesday(September 6) , President Masisi said it had been proved over the years that the mining industry in Botswana operated better and was more rewarding on a global scale.
This, he attributed to the conducive investment landscape.
To this end, the President said the country had a stable and well-codified exploration and mining landscape that was easy to comply with, supported by fair and transparent statutes.
He said the Minerals Policy intended to guide the development of the minerals sector, which enabled private investors to earn competitive returns while on the other hand maximising economic benefits for Batswana.
The policy, among others, also stimulates private sector investment in minerals development and improves linkages to generate local employment opportunities.
President Masisi further said Botswana's rankings by the Fraser Index of Best Practices Mineral Potential Index (BPMPI) which measures the mineral potential of different jurisdictions had further proved that Botswana's policies were viewed as favourable.
BPMPI rankings have moved Botswana from 31 per cent in 2021 to 73 per cent in 2022.
"This surge in rankings shows that Botswana's policies, laws and the prospective landscape are viewed favourably by the global community," he said.
Furthermore, he said the Fraser Rankings for Investment Attractiveness Index (IAI) and the Policy Perception Index (PPI) also show Botswana to be among the well-performing jurisdictions globally, rated at 70 per cent.
President Masisi said the facilitation of diversification of Botswana's minerals portfolio was also ramped up through a number of projects to identify the potential for minerals resources.
He said geoscience information had been made readily available to private investors in an effort to encourage prospecting for metals.
Mineral exploration activity that would lead new discoveries was further assigned to Botswana Geoscience Institute (BGI) which continues to provide knowledge on minerals occurrences, thus improving the country's prospective rankings.
President Masisi told participants that Botswana was also on a drive for searching new mineral commodities, in particular, rare earth elements and battery metals.
"Assessment of these critical elements has taken centre stage throughout the country focusing on the prospective granitic and per-alkaline environment," he said
As a result, he said several minerals had been discovered and that the Geoscience Institute had further embarked on aggressive systematic exploration programmes to raise prospectively through a phased country-wide mapping to improve exploration coverage.
The President told participants that over the years, 14 Australian companies had been issued prospecting licenses, one at both advanced prospecting and mining stages.
He said mineral commodities being prospected for these companies were base metals, coal bed methane, rare earth and uranium and called on more Australian companies to invest in Botswana.
Managing director and CEO of Sandfire Resources said the Motheo Copper Mine in Ghanzi was one of the humbling experiences that was supported by the Botswana government from concept to reality.
He thanked Botswana government and host communities for the professional sophisticated and welcoming business environment they created.
He said Botswana was recognised globally as world attractive mining jurisdiction with developed infrastructure, economic growth, skilled workforce and critically, a clear and stable regulatory environment.
"As noted by His Excellency, the most recent annual survey mining company - the Fraser Institute has ranked Botswana as the number one destination in Africa for investment and number 10 in the world," he said.
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The ADU convener and chairperson of Paydirt Mr Bill Repard said Australia was interested in seeing Africa benefiting from the opportunities in mining, processing and delivering quality minerals to the world.
He said 20 big Australian companies would, during the conference, share their success stories with the participants.
He said new waves of mining across the continent included the recent opening of the Motheo Mining Copperbelt and others across the continent, mentioning Western Africa in Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire as some of the success stories.
ADU is the leading forum for Australian-African business and government relations, which raises awareness of Australia's interests in the African mining and energy sectors.
The platform creates investment opportunities for investors to share insights and address both opportunities and challenges facing the mining industry, governments and host communities.
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