Debswana diamonds to expand Jwaneng Mine

One of the worlds leading diamond miners, and the largest private sector employer in Debswana, looks set to expand its flagship mine by more than 10 years.

Debswana, a Joint Venture between the Botswana government and De Beers Group, has announced that it will add 11 years to the Life of Mine (LoM) of one of its flagship mines, and mine an additional 50 million carats in the process.

The news comes soon after the company had been reported to have committed an investment of around $3billion over the next 15 years, creating access to 95 million carats.

The Jwaneng Mine, located in Southern Botswana, is the richest diamond mine in the world by value.  Responsible for around 60-70% of the company’s total revenue, the Jwaneng Mine is the company’s flagship operation.
 

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Production normally varies according to mining plans of approximately 12.5 to 15 million carats per year.

“At Jwaneng Mine, the options to extend the life of the open pit beyond Cut 8 are being investigated. Studies for a Cut-9 pushback are underway and are at a feasibility stage of design work. Cut-9 is expected to extend the Life of Mine to 2034.”

Reuters believes that feasibility studies are currently underway for the Cut 9 project, with results expected to be revealed by the end of 2018.