MORUPULE

Morupule Colliery Limited was initially established to supply coal to the BCL copper and nickel Mine and the adjacent coal fired power station at Selebi Phikwe. That was in 1973. Today the colliery has expanded considerably, with the commissioning of the Morupule Power Station and the soda ash project at Sua Pan.

Morupule Colliery   A total of 984 838 tons of coal were mined and 964 555 tons were sold during the year 2005.

The coalfield is immense and contains good quality coal, with overall reserves of over 9 billion tons. Production has increased steadily over the years from 145 000 tons per annum in 1973. A total of 984 838 tons of coal were mined and 964 555 tons were sold during the year 2005.

A number of key industries in Botswana depend on coal  supply from Morupule. More than half of the mine's current annual production is supplied directly by overland conveyor to the adjacent Morupule Power Station, while the BCL Mine at Selebi Phikwe and the Botswana Ash plant at Sua Pan remain major customers. Coal is also supplied to the Botswana Meat Commission, Botswana Breweries, Foods Botswana, Makoro Bricks and two coal distributors. The Colliery has also been able to penetrate the SADC market and is currently supplying graded coal to Zimbabwe, Zambia and the DRC.

Efforts to promote coal usage in the domestic market continue as part of the strategy of reducing the use of firewood.

Morupule has strong links with Anglo Coal in order to tap into their technical expertise, including the training and development of employees. Anglo Coal continues to provide technical assistance in equipment maintenance, developments in coal mining technology and standards, employee training and development, and in mining safety. Morupule Colliery has over 250 employees, over 97 % of whom are citizens of Botswana.

The Mine continues to perform credibly in the BCM safety competitions. Morupule is also an active participant in the Debswana group initiative to combat HIV/AIDS.