MAUN – BOSETO mine General Manager Lawrence Manjengwa recently revealed that plans are in place for the mine to start using solar power as an alternative source of energy at their Toteng based operations. According to Manjengwa, BOSETO operations are currently powered by generators, which have proved to be too expensive as compared to solar power, which he described as efficient and cheaper.
Discovery Metal Limited, which owns the mine, boasts of a 15 year mining license which stresses along the Kalahari Copper belt. The company recently revealed that it spends money in the region of P3 million plus per month on fuel only at its BOSETO operation. Unlike other copper and nickel mining companies like Tati Nickel and BCL, BOSETO mine generates its own electricity as it is not connected to the Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) grid. As a result, the Botswana Stock Exchange listed entity has been in financial jeopardy which resulted in job losses at the mine earlier this year.
However, last week the junior miner, which has hired about 400 people at its Ngamiland district operations announced that it has successfully completed a placement with Transamine Trading S.A. The transaction has as such raised AUD$2.8 million for the company after an issue of 84,005,163 fully paid ordinary shares at the price of AUD$0.03451 cents per share. The placement price was calculated according to the 5-price for the Company up to and including 27 May 2014, which is an 8 percent premium to the closing share price on 28 May 2014. Prior to the placement, Transamine held 6.4 percent in the Company and was the second largest shareholder. Transamine will now hold an 18.6 percent stake in DML, making it the largest shareholder.
Meanwhile as part of the placement, the Company has agreed to appoint a nominee of Transamine to the board. Transamine is one of the oldest, independent, privately held commodities trading companies in the world, specialising in raw materials. It provides services in marketing, raw material sourcing, finance and investment worldwide, with a core business focus on non-ferrous metals. Founded in 1953, Transamine has proven its adaptability, reliability and flexibility in increasingly globalised markets and the changing needs of its client base.
