- Diamonds and Copper the primary contributors
- Gold and Soda Ash production experience declines
- Copper Concentrate shows substantial growth
GAZETTE REPORTER
Botswana’s Index of Mining Production in the second quarter of 2023 stood at 99.6, which is a significant increase from 90.6 registered during the same period in 2022 that reflects robust year-on-year growth of 9.9 percent.
This is according to a recent report released by Statistics Botswana
titled “Index of the Physical Volume of Mining Production Second Quarter of 2023 Stats Brief” that sheds light on key factors driving this expansion in Botswana’s mining sector.
Diamonds and Copper emerged as the primary contributors to this impressive growth, with diamond production showing a remarkable 6.2 percent increase, totalling 5,922 thousand carats during the second quarter of 2023.
Copper concentrate
However, the quarter-on-quarter analysis indicates a decline of 15.3 percent compared to the first quarter of 2023, when production reached 6,989 thousand carats.
Copper Concentrate also exhibited substantial growth, surging by 50.9 percent to 16,027 tonnes during Q2 2023, in contrast to the 10,619 tonnes recorded in the same quarter of the previous year.
Similarly, the quarter-on-quarter analysis shows a 7.8 percent increase compared to the first quarter of 2023 when 14,872 tonnes were produced.
God and soda decline
On the flip side, Gold and Soda Ash production experienced declines, with gold production dropping by 29.9 percent to 105 kilograms during Q2 2023, compared to 150 kilograms in the same period in 2022.
However, there was a noteworthy quarter-on-quarter increase of 51.2 percent from 70 kilograms in Q1 2023.
Soda Ash production followed a similar pattern, decreasing by 26.2 percent to 45,502 tonnes in Q2 2023, from 61,647 tonnes in Q2 2022. The quarter-on-quarter analysis revealed a 22.9 percent decrease from 59,040 tonnes in Q1 2023.
Salt up
Salt production, on the other hand, saw a significant year-on-year increase of 32.6 percent, totalling 71,781 tonnes in Q2 2023, compared to 54,124 tonnes in the same period last year. However, it experienced a 22.1 percent quarter-on-quarter decrease from 92,107 tonnes in Q1 2023.
Silver production also witnessed substantial growth, rising by 55.4 percent to 11,720 kilograms in Q2 2023, up from 7,542 kilograms in Q2 2022. Nevertheless, the quarter-on-quarter analysis indicated a slight decrease of 6.9 percent compared to Q1 2023.
Coal down
In contrast, coal production experienced a decline of 21.5 percent, amounting to 470,878 tonnes in Q2 2023, down from 599,474 tonnes in the same quarter of the previous year.
The quarter-on-quarter comparison showed an even steeper decrease of 27.0 percent compared to the first quarter of 2023 when 644,674 tonnes were produced.