Botswana's new copper mine, Khoemacau, is scheduled to start production at the end of this month and its first sales are expected in the third quarter of this year, Botswana's chief executive said on Wednesday.
The Khoemacau copper mine, located in the Kalahari copper belt, which stretches from northeastern Botswana to western Namibia, will be the only operating mine in the diamond-rich country after the other two copper mines have been liquidated.
John Ferreira, chief executive, said that after commissioning and introducing the ore into the processing facility, the copper mine would produce the first concentrate, which is scheduled to be completed by the end of June.
The company, owned by US private equity firm Cupric Canyon, plans to produce 25,000 to 28,000 tons of copper and 790,000 to 810,000 ounces of silver in 2021.
Later, it plans to increase production to full capacity of 60,000 tons of copper and 2 million ounces of silver a year.
Ferreira said most of Khoemacau's products would be exported, most of which had been agreed on off-take, and the first concentrate was expected to be shipped in the early third quarter of this year.
In addition, he noted that, despite the current high copper prices, Khoemacau had no immediate plans to increase production beyond its current installed capacity, as its priority was to sustainably produce concentrates of the right quality and quantity, while increasing capacity.
High international copper prices will be a boon for Botswana as priority bidders have been identified for the two closed copper mines, while Australia's Sandfire Resources has allocated US $259 million to build another new mine in the Kalahari copper belt.
