Base metal exports double

The value of copper and nickel exported from the country reached P2.5 billion in the first five months of the year, more than double the full-year sales figure for last year, Bank of Botswana numbers indicate. Exports of the base metals rose substantially in the subsequent quarters of this year, moving from P653.4 million in the first quarter to P939.3 million in the second, while available data indicate that sales reached P852 million in the first two months of the third quarter. By comparison, the first two quarters of last year had negligible exports, while the third and fourth quarters reached P730.7 million and P490.7 million respectively. The driving force behind the higher exports has been Khoemacau Copper Mining, whose Kalahari Copperbelt operation produced its first concentrate last year. Khoemacau is currently ramping up to full production capacity of between 60,000 and 65,000 tonnes of concentrate, while an expansion is planned to double that production. Built at a cost of $412 million (P5 billion), Khoemacau is currently the country’s sole producer of the base metal, as efforts are ongoing to resuscitate the BCL Mines and the Mowana operation, now known as Kopano Copper Mine.