![]() Jwaneng diamond mine | |
Location | |
---|---|
Location | Naledi River Valley, Kalahari Desert [1] |
Country | ![]() |
Coordinates | 24°31′23″S 24°42′07″E / 24.52306°S 24.70194°E |
Production | |
Products | Diamonds |
History | |
Opened | 1982 |
Owner | |
Company | Debswana |
The Jwaneng diamond mine is the richest diamond mine in the world, [2] and also the second largest in the world. [3] It is nicknamed "the Prince of Mines", [2] and is located in south-central Botswana about 170 kilometers (110 mi) southwest of the city of Gaborone. [4]
Jwaneng means "a place of small stones", [5] and the Jwaneng mine means "where a small stone is found" in Setswana. [6] The mine is owned by Debswana, a joint venture between De Beers and the government of Botswana. [4] It commenced operations in 1982. [2]
The mine owns and operates the local Jwaneng Mine Hospital, Acacia Primary School, and Jwaneng Airport. [7] [8] [9] The mine maintains an ISO 14001 certificate for environmental compliance, being the first mine in Botswana to achieve this certification in 2000. [10]
In the early 1970s, extensive geological surveys by De Beers Exploration led to the identification of the Jwaneng deposit in February 1973, [11] and after 9 years of evaluation and construction it became fully operational in 1982. [2] [11] In 2021, around 107 million tonnes of rock were mined. [6] In 2023, it produced 13.3 million carats of diamonds. [12]
Year | Activity | Geologist(s) | Discovery | Note | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1962 | Road reconnaissance | Jim Gibson/Jim Platt | Barren samples | n/a | [13] |
1963 | No activity | ||||
1964 | |||||
1965 | |||||
1966 | |||||
1967 | |||||
1968 | |||||
1969 | Reconnaissance soil sampling | Mike Whateley/Keith Huxham and others | First kimberlite indicator material recoveries, confirmed by DRL | [a] | |
1970 | Detailed soil sampling | Mike Whateley/Bruce Lynn | Progressive kimberlite indicator material spatial distribution results | n/a | |
1971 | Detailed grid loaming | ||||
1972 | Ground magnetics and gravity/drilling | Peter Bickerstaff | 2424D/K1 | [b] | |
Detailed soil sampling/detailed grid loaming/ground magnetics/drilling | Stuart Vercoe/Norman Lock | 2424D/K2 | |||
1973 | |||||
1974 | Detailed grid loaming/ground magnetics/drilling/airborne magnetics | Stuart Vercoe and others | 2424KD/K3 and 2424KD/K4 | ||
1975 | Detailed grid loaming/ground magnetics/drilling | 2424D/K5 and 2424KD/K6 | |||
1976 | 2424D/K7 | ||||
1977 | 2424D/K8 |
The Jwaneng Diamond Mine is situated within the Orapa Kimberlite Field. [14] In the mine lies the "Jwaneng pipe," [15] a volcanic crater formed during the Permian period. [16] The mine consists of three kimberlite pipes. [17] Diamond-bearing ores are extracted from the vast pit and transported to processing facilities and manufacturing facilities. [18] [19]
The mine employs more than 2,500 people as of 2024. [12] A major project aims to extend production at Jwaneng by creating around 4,500 jobs or more a year, and is expected to contribute more than US$25 billion to Botswana’s economy. This project also plans on increasing the mine's depth from 400 meters to 650 meters. [12]
![]() Jwaneng diamond mine | |
Location | |
---|---|
Location | Naledi River Valley, Kalahari Desert [1] |
Country | ![]() |
Coordinates | 24°31′23″S 24°42′07″E / 24.52306°S 24.70194°E |
Production | |
Products | Diamonds |
History | |
Opened | 1982 |
Owner | |
Company | Debswana |
The Jwaneng diamond mine is the richest diamond mine in the world, [2] and also the second largest in the world. [3] It is nicknamed "the Prince of Mines", [2] and is located in south-central Botswana about 170 kilometers (110 mi) southwest of the city of Gaborone. [4]
Jwaneng means "a place of small stones", [5] and the Jwaneng mine means "where a small stone is found" in Setswana. [6] The mine is owned by Debswana, a joint venture between De Beers and the government of Botswana. [4] It commenced operations in 1982. [2]
The mine owns and operates the local Jwaneng Mine Hospital, Acacia Primary School, and Jwaneng Airport. [7] [8] [9] The mine maintains an ISO 14001 certificate for environmental compliance, being the first mine in Botswana to achieve this certification in 2000. [10]
In the early 1970s, extensive geological surveys by De Beers Exploration led to the identification of the Jwaneng deposit in February 1973, [11] and after 9 years of evaluation and construction it became fully operational in 1982. [2] [11] In 2021, around 107 million tonnes of rock were mined. [6] In 2023, it produced 13.3 million carats of diamonds. [12]
Year | Activity | Geologist(s) | Discovery | Note | Reference |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1962 | Road reconnaissance | Jim Gibson/Jim Platt | Barren samples | n/a | [13] |
1963 | No activity | ||||
1964 | |||||
1965 | |||||
1966 | |||||
1967 | |||||
1968 | |||||
1969 | Reconnaissance soil sampling | Mike Whateley/Keith Huxham and others | First kimberlite indicator material recoveries, confirmed by DRL | [a] | |
1970 | Detailed soil sampling | Mike Whateley/Bruce Lynn | Progressive kimberlite indicator material spatial distribution results | n/a | |
1971 | Detailed grid loaming | ||||
1972 | Ground magnetics and gravity/drilling | Peter Bickerstaff | 2424D/K1 | [b] | |
Detailed soil sampling/detailed grid loaming/ground magnetics/drilling | Stuart Vercoe/Norman Lock | 2424D/K2 | |||
1973 | |||||
1974 | Detailed grid loaming/ground magnetics/drilling/airborne magnetics | Stuart Vercoe and others | 2424KD/K3 and 2424KD/K4 | ||
1975 | Detailed grid loaming/ground magnetics/drilling | 2424D/K5 and 2424KD/K6 | |||
1976 | 2424D/K7 | ||||
1977 | 2424D/K8 |
The Jwaneng Diamond Mine is situated within the Orapa Kimberlite Field. [14] In the mine lies the "Jwaneng pipe," [15] a volcanic crater formed during the Permian period. [16] The mine consists of three kimberlite pipes. [17] Diamond-bearing ores are extracted from the vast pit and transported to processing facilities and manufacturing facilities. [18] [19]
The mine employs more than 2,500 people as of 2024. [12] A major project aims to extend production at Jwaneng by creating around 4,500 jobs or more a year, and is expected to contribute more than US$25 billion to Botswana’s economy. This project also plans on increasing the mine's depth from 400 meters to 650 meters. [12]