Jwaneng diamond mine
 | This article or section is in a state of significant expansion or restructuring. You are welcome to assist in its construction by editing it as well. If this article or section has not been edited in several days, please remove this template. If you are the editor who added this template and you are actively editing, please be sure to replace this template with {{in use}} during the active editing session. Click on the link for template parameters to use.
This article was last edited by 48JCL (talk | contribs) 2 hours ago. (Update timer) |
 Jwaneng diamond mine | |
| Location | |
|---|---|
  Jwaneng diamond mine Location in Botswana | |
| Location | Naledi River Valley, Kalahari Desert[1] |
| Country |  Botswana |
| Coordinates | 24°31′23″S 24°42′07″E / 24.52306°S 24.70194°E |
| Production | |
| Products | Diamonds |
| History | |
| Opened | 1982 |
| Owner | |
| Company | Debswana |
The Jwaneng diamond mine is the richest diamond mine in the world,[2] and also the second largest in the world.[3] It is nicknamed "the Prince of Mines",[2] and is located in south-central Botswana about 170 kilometers (110 mi) southwest of the city of Gaborone.[4]
Jwaneng means "a place of small stones",[5] and the Jwaneng mine means "where a small stone is found" in Setswana.[6] The mine is owned by Debswana, a joint venture between De Beers and the government of Botswana.[4] It commenced operations in 1982.[2]
The mine employs more than 2,500 people as of 2024, and the mine owns and operates the local Jwaneng Mine Hospital, Acacia Primary School, and Jwaneng Airport.[7][8][9] The mine maintains an ISO 14001 certificate for environmental compliance, being the first mine in Botswana to achieve this certification in 2000.[10]
History
Discovery and early exploration
Development and construction
Major expansions
Timeline of discovery
| Year | Activity | Geologist(s) | Discovery | Note | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | Road reconnaissance | Jim Gibson/Jim Platt | Barren samples | n/a | [11] |
| 1963 | No activity | ||||
| 1964 | |||||
| 1965 | |||||
| 1966 | |||||
| 1967 | |||||
| 1968 | |||||
| 1969 | Reconnaissance soil sampling | Mike Whateley/Keith Huxham and others | First kimberlite indicator material recoveries, confirmed by DRL | [a] | |
| 1970 | Detailed soil sampling | Mike Whateley/Bruce Lynn | Progressive kimberlite indicator material spatial distribution results | n/a | |
| 1971 | Detailed grid loaming | ||||
| 1972 | Ground magnetics and gravity/drilling | Peter Bickerstaff | 2424D/K1 | [b] | |
| Detailed soil sampling/detailed grid loaming/ground magnetics/drilling | Stuart Vercoe/Norman Lock | 2424D/K2 | |||
| 1973 | |||||
| 1974 | Detailed grid loaming/ground magnetics/drilling/airborne magnetics | Stuart Vercoe and others | 2424KD/K3 and 2424KD/K4 | ||
| 1975 | Detailed grid loaming/ground magnetics/drilling | 2424D/K5 and 2424KD/K6 | |||
| 1976 | 2424D/K7 | ||||
| 1977 | 2424D/K8 | ||||
Geology
The Jwaneng Diamond Mine is situated within the Orapa Kimberlite Field.[12] In the mine lies the "Jwaneng pipe,"[13] a volcanic crater formed during the Permian period.[14] The mine consists of three kimberlite pipes.[15] Diamond-bearing ores are extracted from the vast pit and transported to processing facilities and manufacturing facilities.[16][17]
Economic impact
The discovery of diamonds in the Jwaneng area marked a significant turning point in Botswana's economic trajectory, even being considered as Botswana’s economic pulse.[18] In the early 1970s, extensive geological surveys by De Beers Exploration led to the identification of the Jwaneng deposit in February 1973,[19] and after 9 years of evaluation and construction it became fully operational in 1982.[2][19] In 2021, around 107 million tonnes of rock were mined.[6] In 2023, it produced 13.3 million carats of diamonds.[20]
Employment
The mine employs more than 2,500 people as of 2024.[20] A major project aims to extend production at Jwaneng by creating around 4,500 jobs or more a year, and is expected to contribute more than US$25 billion to Botswana’s economy. This project also plans on increasing the mine's depth from 400 meters to 650 meters.[20]
Notes
References
Footnotes
- ^ Gap International 2022.
- ^ a b c d Guest 2015.
- ^ Mala 2024.
- ^ a b Mining Technology 2024.
- ^ Benson 2021.
- ^ a b Debswana 2023a.
- ^ "Jwaneng & Orapa Mine Hospitals". Healthshare. 2021. Archived from the original on 28 November 2021. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- ^ Debswana 2023b.
- ^ "Ministry of Works & Transport: Department of Civil Aviation: Jwaneng Aerodrome". Ministry of Works and Transport (Botswana). Archived from the original on 3 February 2007. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- ^ Parliament of Botswana 2018.
- ^ Lock 2019, p. 159.
- ^ De Beers 2022.
- ^ "Jwaneng Diamond Mine tour - excerpts". International Diamond Manufacturers Association. 10 April 2011. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- ^ Schlüter 2006, p. 48.
- ^ NASA 2008.
- ^ Eligon & Silva 2023.
- ^ Davies 2023.
- ^ "Botswana embarks on economic diversification beyond diamonds". Africanews. 13 November 2016. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- ^ a b Lock 2019, p. 155.
- ^ a b c DTC 2024.
Sources
- Gap International (14 April 2022). "Gap International BrandVoice: Operation Botswana: How The Richest Diamond Mine In The World Navigated Covid-19". Forbes. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- Guest, Peter (3 December 2015). "Inside the world's richest diamond mine - CNN.com". CNN. Archived from the original on 30 March 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- Lock, Norman (2019). "Jwaneng - the untold story of the discovery of the world's richest diamond mine". Journal of the Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. 119 (2): 155. doi:10.17159/2411-9717/2019/v119n2a8. ISSN 2225-6253. Archived from the original on 2 November 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
- Eligon, John; Silva, Joao (29 June 2023). "Is Botswana Getting a Raw Deal From De Beers Diamonds?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 6 May 2024.*
- Davies, Aura (5 October 2023). "How Diamonds are Mined, Processed, and Cut in Botswana". Goop. Archived from the original on 3 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- Benson, Steven (28 April 2021). "World's richest open-pit diamond mine to become the world's largest underground mine". MID House of Diamonds. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- Mala, Alisa (13 April 2024). "The 10 Largest Diamond Mines In The World". WorldAtlas. Archived from the original on 29 April 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- "EXCURSIONS: Debswana Mine, Botswana Meat Commission, and Culture Day" (PDF). Parliament of Botswana. 2018. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
- NASA (26 October 2008). "Jwaneng Diamond Mine, Botswana". NASA Earth Observatory. Archived from the original on 11 December 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- Debswana (2023a). "Debswana Jwaneng Mine". Debswana. Archived from the original on 30 September 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- Debswana (2023b). "Debswana Community". Debswana. Archived from the original on 29 November 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- De Beers (2022). "Botswana". De Beers. Archived from the original on 12 June 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- Mining Technology (29 February 2024). "Jwaneng Diamond Mine, Botswana". Mining Technology. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- DTC (2024). "Jwaneng". Diamond Trading Company. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- Schlüter, Thomas (2006). Geological Atlas of Africa (PDF). Germany: Springer. ISBN 978-3-540-29144-2.