Botswana’s mining and exploration industry is a primary sector that has spearheaded the national economy since the 1970s. We dive head-first into the internationally recognised industry to learn about its admirable history and plans for a prosperous future.
SPOTLIGHT ON MINING IN BOTSWANA
Currently one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, averaging approximately five percent growth per annum over the past 10 years, Botswana’s impressive standing is primarily due to its mining and exploration industry.
Mining activities here have been taking place since the 19th century with the advent of the gold rush in the northern part of the country. Since then, the industry has come to dominate Botswana’s national economy and is anticipated to sustain it even further into the future.
Despite the country’s mining sector being hit hard during the COVID-19 pandemic due to performance being tied to global demand, it continues to be an international stalwart, bringing in approximately one-third of total revenues and 80 percent of foreign exchange earnings.
Botswana’s mining industry is primarily dominated by diamonds, as it is currently the world’s largest producer by value and the second largest by volume.
While it is best known for its robust and lucrative gemstone mining endeavours, the country also produces copper, nickel, silver, coal, manganese, soda ash, gold, granite, and other semi-precious stones, alongside its untapped uranium, lead, and zinc reserves.
Revenues from diamond mines, combined with sound economic policies, have helped to build infrastructure and keep the economy stable, allowing Botswana to be one of the few sub-Saharan African countries that has rapidly benefitted from its mineral wealth.
Since independence in 1966, Botswana’s transformation into a middle-income country, substantial reduction in poverty, and improvement in overall living standards have been remarkable.
This successful transformation is credited to the country’s prudent and transparent management of its mining revenues, allowing it to be consistently ranked among the top global 50 countries in terms of governance and contribute to significant savings which can stabilise the economy in case of emergencies and be used for future investments and generations.
The mining industry remains one of the main drivers of economic activity in the country and is poised to further Botswana’s prosperity and international recognition as it prepares to continue making waves in the sector.
Q&A WITH CHARLES SIWAWA, CEO, BOTSWANA CHAMBER OF MINES
Established to serve the interests of the nation’s mining and exploration companies, together with associated industries, the Botswana Chamber of Mines boasts a proud history of helping to drive economic success. We speak to Charles Siwawa, CEO, to learn more about the organisation’s formation and plans for a collaborative and diverse future.
With the objective of promoting and protecting the interests and image of the mining industry, the Botswana Chamber of Mines was formed in 1986 to serve the national mining houses and influence policy decisions and strategic intents within the government, non-government organisations, and related bodies.
Today, with a variety of registered members and companies, the organisation is proud to be a respectful, effective, and unified voice for the mining industry that works to educate and share knowledge with its dedicated stakeholders and ultimately represent the shared interests and needs of the internationally prominent mining industry.
Firstly, could you explain the origins of the Botswana Chamber of Mines – when was it founded and what was your initial vision?
Charles Siwawa, CEO (CS): The Botswana Chamber of Mines was formed in the early 1980s with the idea of looking at our mining processes and, in particular, focusing on the safety and health of employees.
As a country, we had just started mining 10 to 15 years earlier, so ensuring the utmost health and safety of employees was an issue we wanted to formally address. Therefore, the genesis of forming the Botswana Chamber of Mines was to combine all mining companies together into one collective body. We started with about four to five members, and because there were so few, we used one of the mining houses to accommodate the secretariat of the chamber.
From there, two individuals were picked from the mining houses to oversee the chamber. However, with time, there was an increase in the number of mining houses and companies in Botswana, and the issues to be discussed also grew.
We found that only two individuals in charge of the Chamber were unable to adequately cope as they also had to contend with their own normal working duties. So, in 2010, the Chamber decided to establish an official secretariat, which was located in Gaborone, the capital of Botswana. The secretariat is dedicated to running the chamber, and we have been operating this way ever since.
What is your current take on mining in Botswana? Is it a particularly exciting or challenging environment to work in?
CS: There are no two days that are the same in the mining industry. It is challenging, but if you look at where we came from as a country to where we are today and the achievements that have been made, you realise that while there are some challenges, there have also been plenty of successes, especially as Botswana was the third poorest country in the world at the time of independence in 1966.
Since then, we’ve used Botswana’s mineral wealth to develop into a middle-income country, and we are trying to go even further and achieve upper middle-income status. We believe that minerals in the country will help us get there.
So, there are exciting things that we are doing which we believe can help us achieve even more based on the history we’ve had in terms of mineral development.
Please tell us more about the Botswana Chamber of Mines’ vision and purpose.
CS: The vision of the Chamber is to be a united voice for the mining industry and advocate it to government and non-governmental organisations, alongside other sectors of the economy.
In so doing, we believe we will achieve our goals and make sure that the mining industry progresses in a smooth manner.
“The vision of the Chamber is to be a united voice for the mining industry and advocate it to government and non-governmental organisations, alongside other sectors of the economy”
Charles Siwawa, CEO, Botswana Chamber of Mines
How important are the values of unity, good governance, meritocracy, good corporate citizenship, and safety to the Botswana Chamber of Mines, and how do they contribute to your overall success?
CS: There are various pillars that we use to achieve these values, with the health, safety, and working environments of employees, as well as corporate social investment (CSI), of particular importance.
When we look at our figures and statistics, they indicate that we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with any other mining country in the world in terms of safety as we’ve managed to achieve our slogan – zero harm to employees. We fully expect our employees to go to their workstations at their various mines and return home in the same condition that they left in. We believe all employees should feel safe while working in our mines.
We also recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the University of Botswana to establish an occupational hygiene programme that we can utilise at our mines to further enhance the health of employees.
In terms of the environment, I believe we are very much ahead. We comply with and subscribe to international environmental standards and ensure that all our mining companies comply with these regulations and expectations.
Regarding CSI, all mines run programmes within their respective communities with the intent of making a positive impact in local areas. We even look to transcend the regions within the country in terms of our CSI initiatives.
How is the Botswana Chamber of Mines developing its strategy?
CS: One of the strategies we are currently looking at is a five-year plan which acknowledges that minerals will not last forever.
There will come a time when some of these minerals will be depleted; therefore, as a mineral-rich country, we’ve made the decision to utilise our combined purchasing power and establish a supplier development programme where we engage citizens to supply goods and services to our mining sector. Such that, we are even able to start manufacturing some of these products within the country. In doing so, we’re further diversifying the economy by creating a manufacturing base within Botswana.
It’s a significant part of the strategy for us, and we want to ensure that we supply goods and services from within the country to create employment and retain capital.
How does the Botswana Chamber of Mines aim to ensure that legislation in the country is conducive for mining companies while also developing good working relationships with the legislator?
CS: Looking at the Fraser Institute’s Annual Survey of Mining Companies, Botswana’s mining activities and procedures over the last decade have been the best in Africa and amongst the top 10 in the world.
The survey tells us that our policies are conducive to attracting investment in mining. We are proud of this because we believe our advocacy for the mining industry is paying off.
We also know the government is keen to attract investment into the country. So, if you’re looking for a favourable mining destination, I believe Botswana is a prime option, and we’ve seen quite a significant number of companies seeking investment in the mining industry of the country.
Whenever legislative instruments, i.e. policies and acts, are being made or reviewed in the country, the Chamber gets involved in an effort to assist in drafting legislation that will be user friendly to the members.
How do you play a strategic role in promoting the mining industry’s socioeconomic progress?
CS: This is one pillar that we believe will assist the mining industry in investing in the principle of social license to operate. We engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and encourage all mining houses and companies to participate in them.
Each mining house publicises what they’re doing for the local communities they work in. It’s very strategic, and some of the projects we see involve the community on a short-term, medium-term, and even long-term basis.
At the end of the day, there is a significant contribution made by the companies themselves in terms of ensuring that the communities that surround their mining operations are assisted with different initiatives and benefits.
Can you outline your strategy map and what it entails for the collective interests of the Botswana mining industry?
CS: Our strategy as a Chamber is to fully cooperate on all issues and future projects.
There are issues that we believe the government should manage, and there are issues that we believe the industry should resolve itself.
For example, Botswana does not currently have a hazardous waste landfill site. We export our hazardous waste outside the country, but we’ve now realised that it is time to construct this facility ourselves.
We engaged the government to initiate this project in particular the acquisition of land. As the private sector, we went ahead and said we are going to create this hazardous waste landfill site in this country, and we’re currently handling the processes through a project involving all members one way or the other.
We’ve secured the land, and we’re now doing an environmental impact assessment. We believe that we’ll be able to start construction on this site by the end of the year.
This collaborative effort by all the mining houses showcases our ability and desire to work cohesively as a team.
How will the Botswana mining industry continue to remain the main driver of economic activity and sustain the future of the economy?
CS: Firstly, we need to generate the ability to create more mines. We plan to do so by exploring for more minerals with our very strong and robust mineral exploration programme that is currently ongoing. We believe we’ll find even more minerals in this country than we’ve done in the past.
We’re also trying to get more people involved in the supply chains of mining companies and ensure that the industry continues to grow.
If the supply base is there, and delivery is both time and cost-effective, you’ll see our industry grow a lot larger than what it is at the moment.
Finally, what are the goals and priorities of the Botswana Chamber of Mines, and what strategies will you employ to facilitate and implement them?
CS: First and foremost, our goal is to look after the employees of the mining industry. We have to ensure safety across the organisation is maintained and taken care of.
We have a robust programme that ensures that the safety of our employees is done appropriately, and there’s no exception. Whenever we see a member not pulling their weight in terms of the safety programme, we approach them and redress the shortfall.
Secondly, the health of our employees is important because some occupational diseases are latent in nature. In other words, somebody could be working for an organisation, but you could then find out 10 years later, after they’ve left the organisation, that they’ve contracted a disease, so you want a programme that is available to prevent this type of scenario..
When tackling employee health in the past, we focused on curing diseases, but we believe that what we need to do is look at the preventative arena and try to prevent employees from contracting diseases in the first place. This is really the strategy that we are aiming to take forward. It is a difficult space to work in but with concerted efforts we can achieve our goals.
BOTSWANA CHAMBER OF MINES PARTNER
