diamond of botswana

Botswana (Rebirth), Republic of Botswana (Republic of Votsvana), is a state in South Africa. It is part of the Commonwealth (British).

The national flag of Botswana was adopted on September 30, 1966. The flag is blue with a black horizontal strip in the center, with a white border.

The capital of Botswana Gaborone

In terms of diamonds, Botswana is on the third place among the industrialized capitalist and developing countries (over 8%, 1978). The main diamond-bearing areas are Orapa (Orapa and Lethkhakana deposits) and Jvaneng. In the loose deposits, the proven reserves are 6 million carats; forecast reserves of 25 million carats. In total there are about 30 kimberlite pipes in the area. Two small tubes represent the deposit Lethlakana. The reserves of the first to a depth of 37 meters are 2 million carats, the content of diamonds is up to 0.3 carat / ton, up to 40% of jewelry differences. Reserves in gravel deposits is about 1 million carats. At the Jwaneng deposit 4 tubes covered with gravel deposits with a capacity of 30-50 meters. The reserves of the deposit are estimated at 150 million carats (20-30% of diamonds are jewelry). Prospectively for the discovery of new deposits of diamonds is an area in the south-west of the country where kimberlite pipes are open. Intensive searches for kimberlites are carried out in the areas of Orapa and Jvaneng.

The diamond mining industry takes a leading place in the country's mining industry. In terms of diamond mining, Botswana is on the third place among the industrialized capitalist and developing countries (after Zaire and South Africa) - about 17% of the production of these states.

The extraction is conducted in an open way and is concentrated on 3 kimberlite pipes: Orapa, Letkhakana, Dzhvaneng. The development of diamond deposits is conducted by the mixed company "De Beers Votswana Mining". The extraction of ore amounted to 7.3 million tons with an average yield of diamonds of 64.1 carats per 100 tons, which ensured a total production of about 4.7 million carats. In the career of "Letkhakan" in 1980, 401 thousand carats of diamonds were mined.

The quarry "Orapa" is a highly mechanized enterprise with a developed infrastructure (concentrating mill, reservoir, water supply system, access roads). An X-ray machine is used to extract diamonds. The Orapa deposit is represented by the second largest pipe in the world (1560x950 m) - proven reserves exceed 85 million carats (of which 10-15% of diamonds are jewelry), an average content of 0.66 carats per ton.

In 1982, a new Jvaneng quarry was put into operation with an initial capacity of 3.5 million carats per year with an increase in the future to 4.5-5 million carats per year. In 1980, an experimental concentrator was launched here. The analysis of the selected samples showed a high content of jewelry diamonds. In the future, it is planned to produce up to 11 million carats a year.

At both operating enterprises employ about 2,100 workers and employees. All diamonds produced in Botswana are sold through the Central Sales Organization in London on the basis of 5-year agreements. The share of jewelry diamonds in mining is from 15 to 25%, the rest - technical.