The Senior Manager responsible for Letlhakane and Damtshaa Mines at the Orapa, Letlhakane and Damtshaa Mines (OLDM), Bakani Motlhabani says Damtshaa Mine is being turned into a model mine that can showcase the diamond mining process at OLDM. First commissioned in 2002, Damtshaa Mine is Debswana’s youngest operation. It was put under care and maintenance at the helm of the 2008/2009 market downturn and started operating again in July 2011.
According to Motlhabani, Damtshaa Mine is well positioned to profile best practice safety, efficiency and sustainability in diamond mining. “These components are all extremely important in the mining industry. We want to transform Damtshaa Mine into an operation that can internally (within Debswana) be used as a benchmark and possibly inspire other diamond mines around the world with its positive end-to-end results”.
He highlighted that Debswana remains fully committed to consistently review its processes to ensure continuous business improvement, adding that Damtshaa Mine, through its team of 196 employees, is making great strides towards realising its vision, which is also in line with the Orapa Today and Tomorrow project a brainchild of the OLDM General Manager, Dr Adrian Gale.
“The safety of our employees is our utmost priority as an operation. We continue to embed a culture of high safety standards, good house-keeping and identification (and ultimate resolution) of near-misses within the workplace, which we subsequently use to retain a good safety performance” added the Senior Manager.
He further indicated that one of the methods towards taking Damtshaa Mine towards being an epitome of a safe and productive mine, great investment is put towards maintaince of its existing fleet and acquisition of new ones. “The latest addition to our fleet is a WA800 – 3EO wheel loader which is expected to set new industry standards for cycle times, operator comfort and long-term return on investment. This machine is characterised by faster pile-penetration and scooping and is the answer to higher reliability and productivity at the mine” he added.
Motlhabani is adamant that the Damtshaa Mine transformation will contribute positively towards mining, community and tourism existing in harmony, ensuring a sustainable future for the Boteti sub-district and for Botswana at large.
