Home > Our Operations > Letlhakane and Damtshaa mines
Letlhakane Mine is situated 50 km from Debswana’s Orapa operation and 190 km West of Francistown, in Central Botswana. The mine which was first discovered during the sampling and evaluation process at Orapa, became Debswana’s second mine when it opened in 1975.
Open-pit operations at Letlhakane Mine ceased as planned in 2017. The plant for processing of tailings, which will extend the life of the operation to 2043, has been completed and is now operational. The plant has a capacity of up to 800,000 carats per annum.
This has ensured seamless continuity at Letlhakane Mine and most importantly, it has meant zero job losses as a result of switching from mining from the pit to running a tailings plant.
Orapa Letlhakane and Damtshaa mines are certified under both the ISO 14001: 2015 Environmental Management System and ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management System.
Four small diamond pipes (B/K1, B/K9, B/K12 and B/K 15) were discovered between 1967 and 1972 in an area 20km east of the Orapa Kimberlite pipe. These pipes were grouped to form the Damtshaa Mine and are managed, along with Letlhakane Mine, from the Orapa operation. Damtshaa has been forecast to yield 5 million carats from 39 million tons of ore that are to be mined over the 31 year projected life of mine. 201 920 carats were recovered at Damtshaa in 2020.
Damtshaa mine was officially opened on the 25th of October 2003 by the then Vice President of Botswana Lt. General Seretse Khama Ian Khama. He stated during the occasion, ”The Damtshaa mine is the latest addition to the strengthening and consolidation of our position as the leading nation in diamond production.”
Commissioning of Damtshaa Mine was carried out in the fourth quarter of 2002, with the first head feed load recorded on 28th October 2002. Production build up commenced with full production reached in March 2003. The carat profile for Damtshaa Mine is not smooth through the years due to the varying grades of the different rock types in the pits. This has resulted in an average of 0,250 million carats per annum.
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