Debswana’s ambitious 2024 strategy on track
Debswana, the country’s leading rough diamond producer is le with just eight months before its ambitious strategy dubbed ‘ Debswana 2024’ comes to an end in December.
Some of the key focal points of the strategy which was launched in 2020, just before the COVID- 19 pandemic, were to improve e ciency, productivity and most importantly safety, particularly at its diamond mining operations.
Recently, the Botswana Guardian, eager to learn more about the company’s strategic intentions, sat down with the Debswana’s Executive Head: Transformation and Innovation, abo Balopi. is is the man tasked with driving innovation within the company, amid advancements in technological innovation affecting most industries, mining included. And not to be le behind, Debswana, which has existed for well over 50 years, also needs to transform, to become more agile and future ready.
Balopi, whose o ce is strategically located close to that of the Managing Director has a role to ensure that all approved corporate strategies are understood and successfully implemented right from the executive committee down to the men and women in overalls, who work hard at Jwaneng, Orapa Letlhakane and Damtshaa mines to ensure the company objectives are met. “There is a lot of transformation taking place within Debswana- especially within our mines,” Balopi disclosed as we settled down for an interview, on this particular drizzling Tuesday morning.
He gave an example of Jwaneng diamond mine, the company’s biggest cash cow. The mine is currently embarking on a project to go underground. is is the rst time Debswana embarks on a project of this nature since it was established in the late 1960s.
Recently, the Debswana board of directors, announced it had approved investment for a key development phase of the Jwaneng underground project, paving the way for the world’s most valuable diamond mine to transition from open pit to underground operations. e P13.6 billion investment in this phase of works, known as the Exploration Access Development Phase, is for establishing a drilling platform to facilitate comprehensive sampling of the kimberlite pipes, delivering the early access decline for the underground mine and developing essential infrastructure to support forthcoming stages of the project. “In the long term, other mines such as Orapa and Letlhakane will follow suit,” Balopi revealed.
He was quick to explain that they took this strategic decision of going underground, based on trade- o studies between Open Pit Mining and Underground Mining Business Cases as the mines get deeper. e business climate and indeed the mining landscape is changing drastically from the past 50 years, necessitating a change in strategy.
Nonetheless, Balopi, told Botswana Guardian that underground mining also has its own disadvantages, as it o en limits full access to the ore body. As such they have devised measures to counter such by adopting the Future Smart Mining digital innovative approach, even before Jwaneng mine can start producing its rst carat as an underground mining operation.
Debswana is a big animal within the diamond landscape, locally and globally. It is the biggest diamond producer by value and second by volume. As such, the company, which is owned by Botswana Government and De Beers on equal shareholding, is an in uential- player in the diamond industry.
“… because of our size, we have over the years talked more about the good that the diamond industry has done to transform lives. We always give an example of how diamonds have transformed Botswana from one of the poorest countries in the world to what it is today, a high middle- income country,” Balopi asserted.
Debswana has used its status to actively play a bigger role within the local economy. In addition to contributing to the scus, the company has taken a proactive role by leading on initiatives aimed at diversifying the economy. Government has identi ed manufacturing as one of the sectors to achieve a diversi ed economy.
In a bid to bolster the manufacturing sector, Debswana has joined hands with Botswana Chamber of Mines in assisting local companies to manufacture components that are used in the mines. Balopi said this will in the long run create thousands of jobs, which are not necessarily coming from mining, but other associated sectors. e company spends millions of Pula buying components and parts, mostly from outside the country. e plan is to cut this import bill.
Debswana, is also leading a Sustainability initiative called Orapa Today, Boteti Tomorrow. e latter is aimed at playing a part in diversi cation of the economy of Boteti region going forward, to ensure it breaks free from dependency on mining, even when mines are no longer operational.
As a big player in the diamond space, Debswana, continues to ensure it practices responsible and sustainable mining. Central to this is the adherence to laid down Environmental, Social and Governance ( ESG) principles.
Consequently, as it transforms and innovates, it is able to develop sustainable mining techniques, thereby minimising environmental impact and ensuring responsible resource extraction. Balopi stressed transformation and innovation also enables the implementation of advanced safety measures and technologies, reducing the likelihood of accidents and ensuring the well- being of workers.
Today, more and more mining houses are innovating and also adopting technology in diamond mining processes. Balopi admitted that while the company has done exceptionally well on adopting existing technologies, a step change is requiredto adopt future innovative solutions and technologies within its mining operations. Going forward more resources will now be channelled towards innovation and exploring Research and Development ( R& D) opportunities, aimed at improving mining processes. e long- term plan is to create Future Smart Connected Mines.
Risk management is key for any business, especially when it comes to investment decisions. According to Balopi, Debswana always thoroughly addresses the pros and cons of any business decision it takes. He gave an example of moving Jwaneng mine to underground, as a trade- o against the familiar, tried and tested open pit mining method. He is upbeat that the Jwaneng underground project will ensure a long- term future for the mine while creating new jobs in Botswana and ensuring Debswana continues to make a signi cant contribution to Botswana’s economy.
As the Debswana 2024 strategy comes to an end, what has been its success stories and challenges? Perhaps the biggest feat has been the fact that within the strategic period, the company has made savings totalling a jawdropping P7.6 billion. At the start of the strategy, they had set themselves a target of P10 billion. He is con dent that by December they will have saved the remaining P2.4 billion.
Other initiatives that have also been successfully implemented include the Citizen Economic Empowerment Programme ( CEEP). e major challenge, which derailed the other plans under the strategy, was COVID- 19 and the current geo- political tensions which include the Ukraine and Russian war. As Debswana looks beyond 2024, Balopi said they are optimistic that they have created low cost, e cient, safer, sustainable and pro table mining operations which will continue to drive the country’s socio- economic agenda. “To achieve all these targets, we need to have a t for purpose workforce, hence our current focus on underground and digital skills development,” he concluded.