- Write by:
-
Tuesday, November 10, 2020 - 12:50:09 PM
-
558 Visit
-
Print
Mining News Pro - Botswana`s President said its mining industry is expected to shrink by nearly a quarter this year, before bouncing back to growth in 2021 as the diamond market picks up and production begins at a new copper mine.
The mining sector, which provides a fifth of the country`s GDP and 80% of foreign exchange earnings, is seen contracting by 24.5% in 2020, President Mokgweetsi Masisi said during the state of the nation address on Monday.
Botswana closed its borders in March to curb the spread of the coronavirus, locking out international buyers from centres such as Mumbai, Antwerp and China who usually travel to Gaborone ten times a year to view and buy diamonds from De Beers.
Diamond exports from the world`s second-biggest producer dropped 42% to $1.49-billion in the first nine months of this year as production fell 29% to 12.3-million carats.
The mining sector should bounce back to growth of 14.4% next year, Masisi said.
“The diamond markets in the United States, China and Europe are beginning to show sign of recovery and are expected to stabilise by December 2020," said Masisi.
The Khoemacau copper mine is expected to be commissioned in the first quarter of 2021 and the expansion of the Morupule Coal Mine is expected to produce an additional one million tonnes per annum of coal by September 2021, said Masisi.
The president said the southern African nation would begin to open its borders in a phased manner in a bid to boost an economy hurt heavily by the pandemic, with real GDP forecast to contract 8.9% in 2020.
Short Link:
https://www.miningnews.ir/En/News/608166
Copper traded near $10,000 a ton, hitting a new two-year high on its way, as investors continue to pile in on a bet that ...
Adriatic Metals is taking over as the operator of the Rupice deposit development, which is part of the company’s Vares ...
A prefeasibility study for Predictive Discovery’s (ASX: PDI) Bankan gold project in Guinea gives it a net present value ...
Iron ore futures prices drifted higher on Thursday as the latest soft data from top consumer China triggered renewed ...
Rio Tinto said on Wednesday it is teaming up with a global venture studio and start-up investor to back the development ...
Outflows from global physically backed gold exchange traded funds (ETFs) continued for a 10th month in March, but at a ...
Australia’s Fortescue said on Monday it would form a joint venture with OCP Group to supply green hydrogen, ammonia and ...
BMO Bank quietly dropped its policy restricting lending to the coal industry in late 2023, helping it avoid being ...
Mining News Pro - The ceremony of commemorating the tree planting day and the beginning of the afforestation project and ...
No comments have been posted yet ...