Botswana slides in Fraser survey but still Africa’s No.1
Lewanika Timothy | Monday May 27, 2024 06:00
According to the 2023 edition of the authoritative survey, Botswana took back its position as Africa’s most attractive mining investment destination, overtaking Morocco.
At the global level, five European countries overtook Botswana in the latest edition of the survey, with some investors noting that the country had unclear laws on environmental protection.
“Botswana’s lower score this year reflects increasing concerns about skilled labour, infrastructure, its geological database, and uncertainty concerning protected areas,” the survey reads.
In the Policy Perception Index, which measures the effects of government policy on attitudes toward exploration investment, Botswana dropped from second globally to position four this year.
Major policy factors examined include uncertainty concerning the administration of current regulations, environmental regulations, regulatory duplication, the legal system and uncertainty concerning protected areas and disputed land claims.
Botswana’s rankings, when it came to mineral potential, saw the country ranked 27th globally due to its ageing mines and low mineral potential as compared to regional peers such as Zambia. Worries over the country’s mineral potential have held back its performance on the Fraser Index since 2015.
Botswana’s rough diamond deposits, which have sustained the economy as the biggest contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), are reaching maturity, with billions of dollars in investment required to extend the lives of several mines.
Despite Botswana dropping in several indicators of the Fraser survey, 2023 saw the country notch its largest private sector acquisition with the Khoemacau Mine being bought by MMG Mining Group for P23 billion.
Last year, Sandfire Resources also launched a P4.9 billion copper mine in the country’s west, while announcing plans for an expansion that will see production increase by 25% in the coming years.
In addition, the Botswana Geo-Science Institute early this year revealed that prospectors have discovered an array of critical minerals in different parts of the country, including manganese in Kanye and platinum around the Ngamiland area.
Since 1997, the Fraser Institute has conducted an annual survey of mining and exploration companies to assess how mineral endowments and public policy factors such as taxation and regulation affect exploration investment. The latest survey was circulated electronically to approximately 2,045 individuals between August 16, 2023, and January 9 this year.