Letlhakane Diamond Mine

 diamond mine, kimberlite pipe

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Letlhakane is situated 50km from Orapa mine and 190km west of Francistown, in the Boteti district of Botswana.
Letlhakane means "small reed.” The resource was first discovered during the sampling and evaluation process at Orapa, and became Debswana's second mine when it opened in 1975.

Carats per year:
In 2009, 1.066 million carats were recovered from 3.8 million tonnes of ore (2008: 1.2 million carats from 3.794 million tonnes treated).

Mine type - geology and process:
An open pit mine, Letlhakane is the deepest of Debswana’s mines, which means that slope stability is an ongoing challenge.

At Letlhakane, three different distinct episodes of intrusion are currently recognised in the D/K1 kimberlite, resulting in the formation of two ore types.

LM2 (Letlhakane Mine 2) has a basalt content ranging from 5% to 80% while LM1, found in the northern half of the pipe, has less than 10% basalt.

The concentrate from Orapa, Letlhakane and Damtshaa goes to the multi-storey Completely Automated Recovery Plant (CARP) at Orapa. The mine is managed from the larger Orapa operation.

Health and safety:
In 2007, Orapa and Letlhakane mines recorded seven lost time injuries with a LTIFR of 0,09. LTIFR to end October 2008: 0,23. The mines are certified OHSAS 18001 and ISO 14001 compliant.

Community:
In 2007, the Orapa and Letlhakane mines funded the 10.9km road linking Letlhakane village to the Francistown – Orapa road.

Planning for closure:
An initial closure plan has been developed. This covers the scope of work that will be required to effect the physical closure of the mine infrastructure. Financial provision is being made to fund the closure work.

Reference for information:
www.debeersgroup.com/en/Exploration-and-mining/Mining-o...