Botswana is a landlocked country in southern Africa, bordering Zimbabwe in the east, Namibia in the west, Zambia in the north and South Africa in the south. The area is 58 1730km2. The population is about 65438+640,000 (2005). The official language is English, and most residents believe in Protestantism and Catholicism.
Botswana has been one of the fastest developing countries in the world since the founding of 1966. In 2005, the gross domestic product (GDP) was 1, 8 1 billion dollars, an increase of 6.2% over 2004, and the inflation rate was 8.6%. In 2005, the per capita GDP was 1 14 10 (calculated by purchasing power), and it has already ranked among the middle-income countries in the world. Mining and animal husbandry are the pillar industries of the national economy. In 2005, the output value of mining industry accounted for 38% of GDP and 50% of government revenue. Among them, the output value of diamond ranks first in the world.
I. Mineral resources
(1) Geological survey
Botswana is located on the southeast edge of Kalaharitai syncline of South Africa platform. About 80% of the area is covered by Kalahari sediments (Tertiary to modern times), and only the bedrock before Tertiary is partially exposed in the eastern and northwestern regions. The whole territory can be divided into three tectonic units: Rhodesian Craton, Kapwal Craton and Kalahari Craton. The former two are Archaean craton, and the latter is Proterozoic craton.
(1) The Rhodesian Craton is located in the east of Botswana. It is mainly composed of Archean ultrabasic rocks, basic rocks, acidic metamorphic volcanic rocks, greenschist facies and early amphibole facies sedimentary metamorphic rocks and granite.
(2) Kaapvaal Craton is located in the southeast, where Neoarchean gneiss, ultrabasic rocks, volcanic rocks and granite complexes are exposed, with an absolute age of about 2.4 billion years. It is a stable crystalline shield.
(3) The Kalahari Craton, also known as the Young Craton (Platform Syncline) area, retains the metamorphic Proterozoic and Phanerozoic sedimentary rocks and volcanic rocks, covering a vast area in southern and central Botswana. It consists of Limpopo active zone, Proterozoic platform cover, Damara active zone and Karoo Group cover.
Limpopo active zone is located in the eastern region, which has a long history and experienced strong tectonic-metamorphic process. Tectonic metamorphism mainly occurred about 2.7 billion years ago, but it was intermittent between 2.25 billion and 2 billion years ago. The exposed rocks are gneiss, sedimentary metamorphic rocks and volcanic rocks with high metamorphic facies (late amphibolite facies with occasional granulite facies). Damara active zone is located in the northwest, much later, on the edge of Kalahari Craton. Most of the active belts are covered by Karoo Group and Kalahari Galaxy.
Archean metamorphic rocks and granites with ancient crystalline basement under Proterozoic caprock. The caprock is a set of moderate Proterozoic to Cenozoic strata. The oldest platform caprock is the Duopu system in Winster, with a geological age of 2.3 billion ~ 265.438 billion years, which is composed of siliceous volcanic rocks, mudstone and shale. The upper part is Transvaal series, the lower part is composed of quartzite, siliceous dolomite and layered flint, and the upper part is shale series (including quartzite and andesite) with a thickness of 4000 m; Above this series is the Waterburg series, with an absolute age of about 654.38+0.7 billion years, which is composed of continental sand shale.
Proterozoic caprock is covered by Karoo Group (Early Carboniferous-Late Jurassic), and its thickness exceeds 1500 m, including three strata: Lower Deweka Formation, which is bottom moraine and marine deposit; The middle Eka formation is a continental sand shale system containing important coal seams; The upper part is Fengbaobao Formation, which consists of red beds, aeolian sandstone and thick basalt series at the bottom. The latest sedimentary caprock is the Kalahari system (Cretaceous-Modern), which consists of partially consolidated aeolian sand, various lacustrine facies, delta facies and unconsolidated sand layers in the upper part. The maximum thickness of the system is 100 m. ..
(2) Mineral resources
The main mineral resources are diamond, copper, nickel, trona, gold, manganese and coal. Among them, diamond resources, especially gem-grade diamond resources are huge, ranking first in the world.
1. Diamond
In 2005, the diamond reserve was 654.38+0.3 billion carats, and the reserve base was 225 million carats. It is mainly concentrated in Olapa area in the east and Zhuwaneng area in the southeast. Juwaneng deposit, located at120km west of Gaborone, is the largest diamond deposit in Africa. The total resources reached 4120,000 ct.
All diamond deposits are kimberlite primary deposits. Kimberlite cones are all produced in the combination zone of large depression (Kalaharitai syncline) and large uplift (Rhodesia-Kapuwar Craton) on the platform. According to the distribution of discovered kimberlite cones, it can be divided into three cone groups, namely Olapa cone group, Zhuwaneng cone group and Mochu cone group. The three major diamond deposits in Botswana-Olapa diamond deposit, Zhuwaneng diamond deposit and Letracane diamond deposit-are located in the rock tube group with the same name as the first two deposits. In addition, there are also large areas of indicator mineral anomalies from opala to the east and the vast southeast of Botswana, but kimberlite cones have not yet been found.
(1) Olapa Rock Tube Group This rock tube group includes 32 rock tubes containing diamonds, which are distributed within a diameter of about 50 kilometers. Its tectonic position is at the intersection of the east-west Limpopo active zone and the northeast Damara active zone, and the cones are mainly distributed in the northwest along the Limpopo active zone. From the aerial photos, there are many linear structures in the northwest direction and a large rock wall system in this area. The aeromagnetic survey data show that there is a strong anomaly in the northwest. Therefore, the intrusion of kimberlite may be controlled by NW-trending buried deep faults. Among them, the Olapa rock cone (AK 1 rock cone) is the largest known rock cone in Botswana and the second largest rock cone in the world. Olapa deposit is composed of AK 1 cone, with a surface area of 1 140000 m2 and a scale of 1560m × 950m. In the sedimentary kimberlite in the upper part of the rock tube, the grade of diamond varies greatly, and it is very low in fine-grained materials and more than 2.5ct/m3 in medium-grained materials. The average grade is 2.2 metric tons/m3. The proven diamond reserves within the 37m depth of the rock pipe are more than 85 million ct, and the surrounding surface sand layer is 6 million ct.
(2) Jwaneng Rock Pipe Group This rock pipe group is located 400 kilometers south of Olapa and 88 kilometers west of Gaborone, the capital. Includes seven conical rocks. It is located at the junction of Kalaharitai syncline and Rhodesia-Capval Craton. Craton is composed of Archean gneiss and ultrabasic rocks, but it is not deeply exposed. The rock pipe is covered by Kalahari system, with a thickness of 40 ~ 60 m, and is composed of aeolian sand, calcareous conglomerate and siliceous conglomerate from top to bottom. The occurrence of the rock covered by Proterozoic sedimentary rocks is gentle —— Dorpu system and Transvaal system in Winster, with an area of 500,000m2. There are three cones connected together near the surface to form the Zhuwan energy deposit. The upper part of the rock tube is 50m, that is, the depth from the surface to the underground is 50 ~ 100 m, which is weathered "loess". Downward, that is, below the vertical depth 100 m, it becomes hard blue soil, and the surrounding rock is Proterozoic sedimentary rock. Cone intrudes into different rock series of Transvaal system, Gaborone granite of 2.6 billion years and Proterozoic syenite. The diamond content in the upper part of the rock pipe is high.
2. Copper and nickel
In 2005, the nickel reserve was 490,000 t, with a reserve base of 920,000 t, ranking 14 in the world. Copper reserves are above 400,000 t; It mainly occurs in basic-ultrabasic rock-type copper-nickel deposits, including magmatic disseminated deposits and massive sulfide deposits. They are concentrated in the eastern region, and the main deposits are Selebi-Phikwe, Matsitama, Dukwe and TatiNickel.
Mazitama copper mine, located 80km northwest of Francistown, is a volcanic disseminated sulfide copper mine with a copper reserve of 65,438+600,000 t and a grade of 2%. Orebodies are lenticular along the shear zone. The surrounding rocks are schist, amphibole, chlorite, limestone, marble and banded iron-bearing formations, and the original rocks are marine volcanic sedimentary rocks. The deposit was formed in Archean.
Figure 1 Schematic Diagram of Mines and Mineral Distribution in Botswana
Gold-gold deposit; Lime-limestone; GM- platinum group metal ore; DM- diamond mine
3. Coal
Botswana is rich in coal resources, with an estimated reserve of about 654.38+0.7 billion t (see t(2005) for data). Coal is mainly developed by Karoo Group in the eastern and southern regions. 14 coal seam, 0.2~6.2 m thick, found in Palapier Deberdt area in the east. The moisture content of coal is 2.5% ~ 7.5%, dry coal ash 12.8% ~ 38.7%, combustible volatile 19.2% ~ 37. 1%, and the calorific value is 210.8 million ~ 26.4 million j/kg. The moisture content of coal is 5.5% ~ 6.5%, the ash content of dry coal is 9% ~ 14%, the combustible volatile matter is 25% ~ 32%, and the calorific value is 25.7 million ~ 27.5 million J /kg (6 150 ~ 6580 kcal /kg). In the exploration area of 50 square kilometers, the coal reserves reach 400 million tons.
4. trona
In 2005, the natural alkali reserves were 400 million tons, mainly produced in Suapan in the north of Gaborone.
Second, production.
Botswana mines mainly mine minerals such as diamonds, copper, nickel, cobalt, gold, coal and trona. 1995-2005 The output of major mineral products in domestic mines is shown in table 1. China has smelters that process primary products of copper, nickel, cobalt and other minerals, such as matte and matte nickel. The raw materials used are both domestic and imported.
Table 1 1 995 ~ 2005 Output of Main Mineral Products in Mines
Source: Philip M.Mobbs.Minearls Yearbook, 1995, 2000, 2005.
1. Diamond
Botswana is the largest producer of natural diamonds in the world (the output is the first and the output is the second). 1995 produces diamonds16802,000 CT, compared with 3189,000 CT in 2005, with an average annual growth rate of 6.62%.
The main operator of the diamond industry is Debswana Diamond Company, and DeBeers Company of South Africa and Botswana Government each hold 50% of its shares. Diamonds are mainly produced in four mines operated by the company, of which Olapa Mine has a service life of 34 years and an output of 6,543,800 CT. The life of Zhuwaneng Mine is 23 years, and the output is15.6 million CT. Lethakane mine has a life span of 20 years and an output of 654.38+0097 million CT. The mining life of Damtshaa mine is 2 years and the output is 246,300 tons.
The sale and export of primary diamonds are completely monopolized and have been sold to British Diamond Trading Company (DTC) in London through De Beers' distribution channels. In 2005, Debir Company reached an agreement with the Botswana government to move some British cutting and grinding companies to Botswana to help the development of the local diamond processing industry. In addition, many exploration companies are currently conducting diamond risk exploration in Botswana.
2. Copper, nickel and cobalt
In 2005, the output of copper, nickel and cobalt in Botswana's domestic mines was 24,700 tons, 65,438+0.865 million tons, 43,800+0.30 million tons and 270 tons respectively, with an average annual growth rate of 2.4% and 8.5% respectively.
About 200 kilometers south of Francistown, a smelter operated by BCL Company in Botswana processes and treats the concentrate of Selebi-Phikwe mine. 200 1 signed an agreement with Swiss Gentanmetall AG and Falconbridge to process the concentrate of Fenghuang mine at the same time. The mine belongs to Tati Nickel Company (a subsidiary of Lion Ore International Mining Company in Canada), and its resources will be exhausted on 20 1 1 ~ 20 12. In 2005, the production capacity of BCL Smelter was expanded from 40,000 t/ a to 60,000 t/ a, and in the same year, 68,600 t of primary smelting products of copper, nickel and cobalt were processed and then transported to Norway for refining. The copper and nickel production capacity of Fenghuang mine is 25,000 t, and the BCL smelter may close after the resources of Selebi Pikewei mine are exhausted, so the processing of Fenghuang mineral products will find another way out.
At present, Botswana is carrying out several copper and nickel exploration projects. African copper industry co., ltd. The evaluation of Dukwe copper mine project is continuing. The mine is located in the northwest of Francis Town 130km, adjacent to Matsitama exploration license area. The company has completed the feasibility study of mine development. It is estimated that the copper reserves are about 590,000 tons, and copper oxide is recovered by open-pit mining, wet smelting and solvent extraction electrowinning. In addition, the company approved the implementation of10000m intensive drilling in Dukwe copper mine in 2006.
In 2005, it was discovered that the nickel mine company continued to explore and drill in the brown nickel mine project in northeast Botswana, covering remote scenic spots such as Dicolotti, northern Dicolotti, Kima and Renzwei. In 2005, it was discovered that Nickel Company had obtained seven licenses for the prospective exploration area in northeast Botswana, which constituted the Maun copper mine project.
3. golden
The domestic mine gold output 1995 was 0.87t, and in 2005 it was 2.7 1t, with an average annual growth rate of about 12%. In the past, the gold output of domestic mines was very small, and it was not until June 2004+10 that the Mupane open-pit gold mine, located 30km southeast of Francistown, was commercially mined that the real gold output was realized. The operator of the mine is Mupane Gold Mine Company (a subsidiary of Gallery Gold Limited, Australia). As of March 2005, the gold reserve of this mine was about 26.6 t. In 2005, the ore was produced in the oxidation zone and transition zone of Tau open-pit mine, and the oxidation zone was mined in Tholo open-pit mine in the second half of the year. Mupane Company has approved the construction of a concentrator in Mupane Smelter, which has a ball mill workshop and flotation equipment, and plans to treat the sulfide ore and transition zone ore selected by hand at present to improve the grade of raw materials used in the smelter. At present, the company is further exploring gold outcrops near Mupane, such as Jim's Luck scenic spot in Sashe area, Maitengwe lease area, Golden Eagle, Lady Mary2 and Map Nora area, Ratomo and Signal scenic spot in Tati area and Vumba lease area with exploration license. At the end of the year, IAM Gold Company of Canada proposed to acquire the company.
4. Coal
1995 coal output was 898,400 tons, and in 2005 it was 984,900 tons, with an average annual increase of 9.64%.
Debswana operates the Morupule coal mine in Palape, which is located in the south of Francistown 175km. The coal produced by many coal mining companies is sold to Morupule Power Plant of neighboring Botswana Power Company. Debir Diamond Company in Botswana is building a coal washing plant here.
In 2005, British Virginia Coal Investment Company and Botswana Meepong Investment Company re-evaluated the risk of Mmamabula coal project. There have been many exploration agencies to evaluate this area, but due to the lack of water, the project development has been stagnant. The United States Trade Development Agency awarded a contract to Delphos International to provide financial assistance to Botswana's Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy and the Ministry of Water Resources for the development and construction of Mmamabula thermal power plant with a power generation capacity of 65,438+0,200 MW.
Three. Mineral products trade
From 1995 to 2005, the total export of Botswana's mineral products increased by 4.5% every year.
The total export value of mineral products in Botswana195 was US$ 3 billion, including US$ 2 1 billion for diamonds and US$ 300 million for cobalt, copper, nickel and trona. They account for 80% of the total export value of mineral products.
Botswana's total export value of mineral products in 2005 was US$ 4.66 billion, including US$ 3.3 billion for diamonds, US$ 46.65438 billion for matte and nickel matte, US$ 36 million for gold and US$ 65 million for trona. They account for 83.3% of the total value of exported mineral products. The total value of imported mineral products is $3.28 billion.
Four, mining management regulations and policies
(1) Mining Management Department
The competent mining authority in Botswana is the Ministry of Mines, Energy and Water Resources. The main responsibilities and tasks are: ① coordinating the work of mineral resources, energy and water conservancy; (two) to formulate, guide and coordinate the general policies of minerals, energy and water resources; (three) to formulate long-term and short-term work strategies for implementing the national policies on minerals, energy and water resources; (4) Providing high-quality water resources and improving water quality; ⑤ Leading and coordinating the work of intergovernmental departments and other private and international institutions related to minerals, energy and water resources; ⑥ Management of exploration and mining rights. The main institutions are as follows:
(1) Mining Bureau: ① Establish and maintain an effective organization to supervise the implementation of mining laws and regulations; (2) Improve the social, economic, financial and other benefits of mineral resources development; (3) To assist the Ministry of Mining, Energy and Water Resources in formulating national policies; (4) provide professional guidance; (five) to formulate and provide technical guidelines and working standards for mining, mineral processing and smelting; ⑥ Provide corresponding consulting work for the government.
(2) Geological Survey: ① Collect, check, evaluate and disseminate information related to national rocks, minerals and groundwater resources; (2) Providing consulting services for the public and private sectors on earth science issues; (3) To manage and supervise the work related to mineral exploration and mineral laws.
(3) Water Affairs Bureau: ① Assess, plan and develop water resources for national economic development; (two) to formulate policies for the development, utilization and management of water resources; ③ Supervise the implementation of water law and relevant laws and regulations; ④ Saving and protecting water resources.
(2) mineral legislation
The main legal basis of mining management in Botswana is 1999 Mining and Mineral Law and 1969 Gems and Semi-precious Stones (Protection) Law. The legal basis of oil and gas exploration and development management is mainly the petroleum law of 1983. 1999 "Mining and Mineral Law" stipulates that the exploration and development of mineral resources in Botswana must obtain a mining license issued by the competent department. It mainly includes the following three types:
(1) exploration license: maximum area 1000km2. The initial term is 3 years, which can be extended twice for two years each time. Every extension, the original exploration area must be reduced by 50%.
(2) Mining license: the term is 25 years, renewable/kloc-0 times, and the term is 25 years;
(3) Retention License: It will allow a company to continue to retain its original rights here after completing the exploration plan or determining the discovered mineral deposits, when commercial development cannot be carried out immediately due to market or other factors. The term is 3 years, which can be extended 1 time, but the longest is not more than 3 years.
The holder of a mining license must obtain the consent of the land owner or legal occupier before starting commercial activities. With the consent of the Minister of Mines, Energy and Water Resources, exploration licenses and mining licenses may be transferred. In addition, the Mining Law stipulates that during the commercial production of new mining venture capital projects, the government has the right to choose to hold up to 15% of the shares.
(3) Taxes and fees related to mining activities
Botswana's tax level is relatively low among southern African countries, which is attractive to investors. Taxes and fees related to mining mainly include: enterprise income tax, withholding income tax, royalties, rent, etc.
(1) Royalty: 3% for ordinary minerals, 5% for precious metals, 0/0% for diamonds and 0/0% for oil and gas.
(2) Annual license fee (equivalent to rent): The annual fee for exploration license is 5 pula /km2, but for industrial mineral exploration, each license shall not be less than 500 pula (pula, Botswana currency, the average exchange rate in 2004 is 65,438+0 USD =4.7 pula), and for other mineral exploration, the fee for each license shall not be less than 65,438+0. Retention permit: the first year is levied according to the standard of 5,000 pula /km2, and the second year is increased by 5,000 pula /km2 annually, and the mining license is levied according to 100 pula /km2 annually.
(3) Income tax and other expenses: income tax: the tax rate is 25%; Withholding tax:15%; VAT: 10%.
(D) Evaluation of mining investment environment
Botswana is rich in mineral resources, with a relatively standardized mining management system and a good economic environment. In 2004, Botswana ranked 45th in the world and 3rd in Africa, next only to South Africa and Tunisia. In 2005, it was rated as the freest economy in Africa again, and its currency credit rating continued to maintain a high level. Mining plays an important role in the development of national economy. In order to promote the development of mining industry, the government attaches great importance to attracting foreign investment. To this end, the government has been working hard to improve the mining investment environment. In the past few years, the government has revised the mining law, reduced government intervention, simplified the examination and approval procedures of mining rights, lifted restrictions on the transfer of mining rights, introduced a new tax system, and reduced related taxes and fees. In addition, the government has taken supporting measures such as amending the commercial competition law, simplifying the examination and approval procedures of enterprises, and signing agreements with many countries to avoid double taxation, which has greatly improved its mining investment environment. In particular, 1999 promulgated a new mining law, in which two changes are particularly important. One is to cancel the power of the government to own "performance shares" in mining enterprises (the old law stipulated that the government owned 15% ~ 25% performance shares); Second, the standard of mineral royalties has been lowered, and the rate of ordinary mineral royalties has been lowered from 5% to 3%. This greatly reduced the burden on investors and was welcomed by investors. Since the promulgation of the new law for seven years, this policy has remained stable.
In the survey and evaluation of mining investment environment of major countries in the world in 2005-2006 released by Fraser Institute in Canada, Botswana's policy potential index (attractiveness of policy environment to investment) ranked 36th, which was 14 higher than the previous year. Under the current policy environment, Botswana's mineral potential ranks 1 1, an increase of 14 over the previous year. Both the above two rankings rank third in Africa. To sum up, Botswana's current mining investment environment is generally good and has been recognized by many international mining investors.
Verb (abbreviation of verb) view
Botswana's superior geological conditions, mining investment environment, low taxes and political stability are expected to continue to be an ideal place for foreign mining investment, especially the exploration and development of diamonds, base metals and precious metals.
The diamond industry is still the main pillar of the future national economic development. Although Botswana De Beers will reduce the mine capacity, the demand for gem-grade diamonds in the international market will be in short supply in the next few years, and the market price will continue to rise. Therefore, the decline in production capacity will not only lead to a decline in income, but may lead to an increase in income. In addition, copper, nickel, gold and trona industries are still the main focus of national economic development. The government supports the development of small coal mines and coalbed methane, uses them to generate electricity, and uses the power grid connected to South Africa to export electricity to South Africa.
Although the government encourages the development of high value-added mineral products production, the lack of water in the inland seriously hinders the development of large-scale deep processing industry. Limited domestic market capacity, export products must be shipped to South African ports, high transportation costs, and the spread of AIDS have restricted the investment desire of foreign manufacturers. High-cost fuel will also continue to affect the import and export transportation costs of products.
Main references
Philip Mobbs Botswana Mining Yearbook, 1995
[2] George Coe Klee, Botswana, Mineral Resources Yearbook, 2000.
[3] Philip Mobbs, Botswana, Mineral Resources Yearbook, 2005.
[4] Song Guoming. Guide to mining investment in Africa. Beijing: Geological Publishing House, 2004.