Botswana

Botswana remains the primary focus of BMIN’s exploration activities. The country is the world’s leading diamond producer by value and one of Africa’s most politically stable nations, with supportive mining policies and strong governance. It hosts key operations, including Orapa, Jwaneng, and Karowe, home of the 1,109-carat Lesedi La Rona, and continues to attract significant mineral exploration investment.

During the review period, BMIN expanded its Botswana strategy to include both diamonds and other minerals identified through its AI prospectivity work. Traditionally focused on the Kalahari Desert’s hidden kimberlite potential, where discoveries such as the KX36 kimberlite were made, the Company is now also targeting copper, nickel, cobalt, PGMs, and zinc-silver prospects. Botswana’s ancient craton contains both diamond-bearing kimberlites and metal-rich greenstone and mafic terranes, many of which are buried beneath sand cover and were previously underexplored.

Figure 3: Kimberlite clusters of Botswana

BMIN’s approach is two-fold: (1) to advance its diamond pipeline in preparation for a diamond market recovery, and (2) to secure prospective polymetallic ground for diversification. The AI programme effectively scanned the country, identifying new kimberlite clusters (for which prospecting licences were granted) and high-priority base- and precious-metal targets (for which prospecting applications were lodged). Many lie on the ground, released by majors due to the historical diamond bias, creating a timely entry opportunity for BMIN.