Debswana Funds Flagship School Project

New classrooms are being built for Seaseole Primary School in Letlhakane, close to Debswana’s Letlhakane Mine, where a new tailings plant project is nearing completion, extending the life of the mine by 25 years.

Bakani Motlhabani, General Manager of Orapa, Letlhakane and Damtshaa mine, said Debswana was committed to leaving a legacy of prosperity especially among host communities, and this school project was part of that. It was, he said, in line with Debswana’s ‘Show we care’ value.

“This particular initiative is classified as a flagship project given the level of sponsorship associated with it,” he said at a ground-breaking ceremony.

The building work is being undertaken by Gut & Mas Pty Ltd, a 100 per cent citizen-owned construction company. It involves five new classrooms, plus furniture, at the school, which currently has 16 classrooms and 981 pupils.

Simon Coles, Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Basic Education, praised Debswana for its commitment to supporting its host communities. The project would, he said, go a long way to providing a conducive learning environment for the students at Seaseole Primary School and help create a bright future for them.

And he highlighted the billions of Pula in revenue that Debswana generated, benefiting his ministry and the people of Botswana through dividends, royalties and taxes.

And he added: “The contribution of Debswana to Botswana’s economy is not only limited to government revenues. The company also has a robust socio-economic development programme, which is funded through its Corporate Social Investment Programme and legacy initiatives. These programmes lend support to community development, environment conservation, arts and culture development.”

The Letlhakane Mine Tailings Resource Treatment Project involves the construction of a modular treatment plant that will recover diamonds from tailings using new and improved recovery technologies. More than 800 people have been employed on the project. Commissioning begins in the first half of this year.

Letlhakane is an open-pit mine in Botswana’s Boteti Sub-District, 230km west of Francistown.

About De Beers
De Beers is a member of the Anglo American plc group. Established in 1888, De Beers is the world’s leading diamond company with expertise in the exploration, mining and marketing of diamonds. Together with its joint venture partners, De Beers employs more than 20,000 people across the diamond pipeline and is the world’s largest diamond producer by value, with mining operations in Botswana, Canada, Namibia and South Africa. As part of the company’s operating philosophy, the people of De Beers are committed to ‘Building Forever’ by making a lasting contribution to the communities in which they live and work, and transforming natural resources into shared national wealth. For further information about De Beers, visit www.debeersgroup.com.

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