Traditionally known for its diamonds and coal, Botswana has set its sights on the copper market. With global demand for copper soaring, the increase in projects in Botswana comes as no surprise, and the country is seeing significant advancements in several projects.According to Duncan Bonnett, a partner at Africa House, there are several new projects in the pipeline, while some existing projects have been so successful that they are already in the expansion phase. Botswana’s Kalahari has quickly become one of the world’s emerging copper-producing districts, attracting growing interest. “Mention Botswana and one immediately tends to think of diamonds or coal, but there are some very exciting developments in the copper sector,” Bonnett told Freight News.In December, Sandfire announced it was expanding its Motheo copper mine from a production of 3.2 million tons per annum (mtpa) to 5.2 mtpa, just months after the mine was commissioned. This decision came after the Australian mining company encountered far more favourable mining conditions than expected. Additionally, a pipeline of exploration targets has been identified for drilling in 2025, which could further increase output.The Botswana government has been intent on diversifying its economy and breaking its dependence on diamonds. To encourage more mining activity, mining legislation was revamped in 2023 to attract more investors. This change came after miners complained about excessive red tape in the mining sector, making it imperative to create policies and regulations that improve the investment climate in the minerals sector.Bonnett said Botswana remained a low-risk country where it was easy to do business and interest in the burgeoning copper sector was growing. “If one looks at the country from a legal, judicial and even infrastructure aspect it remains relatively easy to do business – and from our assessments there is growing interest in the various copper projects.”He said some projects were still in early exploration phases while others were expanding production like Motheo. Renewable energy and electric cars continue to boost the demand for copper, driving prices higher. The ongoing investment in artificial intelligence is another driving force, as the construction of data centres around the world has significantly increased.According to Statista, around 22 million tons of copper was mined in 2023, a major increase from 2010 when only about 16 million tons were produced. S&P Global forecasts that demand for copper will double in coming years and estimates production at around 50 million tons per year by 2035.
