Treatment Project at Letlhakane Will Add 25 Years to Mine Life

(IDEX Online) – Diamond miner Debswana said a Mine Tailings Resource Treatment Project at the Letlhakane operation means rough diamonds will still be produced at the mine after production at the primary deposit finishes next year.

The tailings project, which started in 2015 and is 80 percent complete, will lengthen the mine’s lifespan by 25 years, said the jointly owned De Beers-Botswana government miner.

Building and other work is on schedule for commissioning in the third quarter of next year.

Debswana ended opencast mining at Lethlakane last month, saying the mine had reached the end of its lifespan.

Debswana has also engaged experts to examine the possibility of extending the lifespans of its Damtshaa and Orapa mines beyond their projected exhaustion date of 2050, according to a report on mining.com.

The Damtshaa mine was placed on care and maintenance status in January, and will start producing as soon as global diamond prices recover.