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Do you know about the Khoemacau Copper Mine in Botswana?
The Khoemacau Copper Mine is located 72 kilometres southwest of Maun in north-western Botswana, within the high-grade Kalahari Copper Belt
The Khoemacau Copper Mine is located 72 kilometres southwest of Maun in north-western Botswana, within the high-grade Kalahari Copper Belt. It holds mineral rights covering a total area of 4,040 square kilometres and ranks as Botswana’s largest copper mine. The mine adopts underground deep-level mining with block caving technology. Ore is transported 35 kilometres via a dedicated haul road to the Boseto Concentrator for processing. It produced its first copper-silver concentrate in June 2021 and reached full production in the fourth quarter of 2022, with an initial Phase 1 construction investment of 412.4 million US dollars.
Endowed with superior mineral resources, the mine hosts total copper resources exceeding 6 million tonnes alongside substantial associated silver deposits, supporting a stable mine life of over 20 years. Phase 1 is designed to process 3.65 million tonnes of ore annually, yielding 60,000 tonnes of copper and 1.6 million ounces of silver per year. Silver by-product revenue offsets operational expenses, bringing the cash mining cost down to approximately 1.30 US dollars per pound of copper.
Phase 2 expansion officially broke ground in February 2026 with a 25-month construction schedule, targeting commissioning in the first half of 2028 at a total capital outlay of roughly 900 million US dollars. A new concentrator with an annual throughput capacity of 4.5 million tonnes will be built, lifting total ore processing capacity to 8 million tonnes per annum. Post-expansion annual output will rise to 130,000 tonnes of copper and over 4 million ounces of silver, with overall cash costs capped below 1.60 US dollars per pound. Pre-feasibility studies for Phase 3 are underway, targeting a long-term annual copper production capacity of 200,000 tonnes.
The project boasts a well-established mining support system. Underground mining works are fully contracted to Jincheng Mining, under a five-year service agreement valid from July 2025 to June 2030 worth 805 million US dollars, covering the full scope of underground tunnelling, ore extraction and mucking operations.
All intelligent mining machinery is supplied by Sandvik under a 70 million US dollar equipment order. Core drilling rigs include the DD422i development drill rig and DL422i long-hole production drill rig. The twin-boom DD422i is engineered for drift development, face drilling and ground support installation, capable of covering a drilling area up to 60 square metres with high hole accuracy and flexible adaptability to multiple working conditions. The DL422i long-hole drill is tailored for large-scale block caving, delivering a maximum drilling depth of 54 metres to meet production demands of deep, large stopes.
All machines are integrated with Sandvik’s AutoMine autonomous mining system, enabling remote operation, autonomous tramming and fully automated drilling. Real-time equipment monitoring, predictive maintenance and production data analytics are embedded within the system, significantly cutting underground manpower exposure while boosting operational safety and equipment utilisation rates.
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2024-02-10
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