No room at the inn. That was our very odd introduction to Selibe Phikwe. There are three of us lugging bags into what is supposed to be a deserted dying town and we are told hotel beds are all taken, save for two.
The lady behind the reception desk at Syringa Hotel must have sensed out double take. She volunteered an explanation: “BCL is going through a shut down, so there are a lot of workers from out of town and all hotels are fully booked.” It is almost an article of faith in Selibe Phikwe that when BCL sneezes, the whole town catches a cold. Until recently, everyone was counting down to the eventual closure of the BCL copper and nickel mine and the desertion of Selibe Phikwe to ruins of homes that once boasted families, neighbours and friends. Investors took one look at the town on its death throes, dusted the soil off their shoes and never came back.
A dozen or so deserted factory shells told the gloomy story of a boom town going bust. But when Vice President, Ponatshego Kedikilwe plunged a spade on dry soil last Thursday, breaking ground for the construction of a BCL steel and casting manufacturing factory the biggest green-field investment in the town so far, the hitherto gloomy mood was not only politically upbeat. The factory is one of a number of developments planned by the BCL that are expected to turn the sleepy town into a regional power, and there is a fair deal of optimism in a place where such is not customary.
Here an odd warehouse is under construction, there a factory shell is taking shape and there BOCCIM is opening an office in town, betraying a flicker of life where once was a shadow of death. If there was any one incident that captured the new spirit of an upbeat and optimistic Selibe-Phikwe, it was when BCL General Manager Dan Mahupela stood in front of a clutch of invited guests during the ground breaking ceremony of Pula Steel and announced: “BCL is not going to die. BCL is going to turn this town into a city”. This was not just the rumblings of a man caught in the excitement of the moment, far from it. Mahupela is the brains behind the multi-billion pula investment plan by BCL ÔÇô termed Polaris 2- which has given the town aspirations to be a new city of the north. “Today marks the beginning of a dream” announced Mahupela. The path from nightmare to dream however is littered with tears, sweat and corpses of government programmes.
The plan to safe Selibe-Phikwe had become a revolving door of government programmes and experts who came and went leaving the town tottering on its last legs. That was until Vice President Kedikilwe, then Minister of Minerals Energy and Water Resources summoned Mahupela and his charges to his office and demanded that they come up with a rescue plan to snatch the town from the certain jaws of death. The result was Polaris 2. The hard to please Kedikilwe pored over the Polaris 2 document, flashed a smile of satisfaction and said “These ideas are so brilliant, where have they been. I am sufficiently enthused.” The Pula Steel and Casting Manufacturing plant is one of the first pages of Polaris 2 to make it out of the shelves into brick and mortar.
“We are creating the first iron ore industry in the country. This is the beginning of a dream. The next time I stand in front of you I will be unveiling an even bigger project. This gentleman is going to be a city Mayor in the next five years” Mahupela said, gesturing towards Selibe Phikwe town Mayor Tebogo Matlhogonolo. The infectious optimism was not lost on the town mayor who declared: “Our town is not dying but awakening to its potential.” The project is part of a planned Iron circuit which will turn Selibe Phikwe into a regional iron and steel production centre.
The iron circuit is one of six circuits planned for Selibe-Phikwe. The BCL which most were convinced would not see the next decade has now hit a swashbuckling buccaneering form and has eyes set on acquiring a number of mines in South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Plans are already in motion to change the BCL mine in Selibe- Phikwe into a new enterprise with copper and nickel playing only a fraction of the business portfolio. The plan comes in the wake of a divestment by Russian conglomerate Norilsk from BCL, giving the Botswana government a 100% stake and free hand. The plan also follows discussions at the government enclave that SPEDU ( a parastatal established to safe the town beyond BCL) would not be able to move fast enough much less be able to replace BCL in Selibe-Phikwe. As part of the new plan, BCL has already started looking for mining deposits around the country that would replace the diminishing copper deposits at Selibe Phikwe that the company is currently mining.
The Mine is also establishing joint ventures which will fast-track the process of enlisting into its production pipeline a number of known deposits which had been left un-mined because at the time they were deemed not economic enough. Also being expedited is the process of treating the tailings. BCL has told government that on account of improvements in technology the tailings will significantly release copper from them.
The new strategy, dubbed POLARIS II will improve efficiency, utilize the Mine’s economies of scale by dominating copper treatment from al mines up to a radius of 1500 kilometres. These will include mines from countries like Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa and Mozambique. Discussions are also at an advanced stage to establish partnerships between BCL and smaller copper mines in those countries.
These a building blocks towards establishing a, “Iron Production Circuit” which will see BCL diversifying from copper-Nickel and into other base metals. The company will also scale up beneficiation especially that of sulphur but also other toxic by-products which it currently blows into the atmosphere. Exploration has also been intensified as has been efforts to invest in modernising the treatment plants to make BCL mine’s smelter become the sub region’s premier preferred treatment plant for concentrates.
Cabinet has also been briefed on opportunistic acquisition opportunities especially in Zimbabwe. The figures flouted about include $700 million a year that a reformed BCL would be able to pump into the new economy, with an additional 1800 direct jobs. These exclude downstream industries that will be expected to be a feeder into the copper metal economy BCL has also made known its intention to diversify into coal mining which if approved would turn the company and Selibe Phikwe into what it calls a “metallurgical Hub of Southern Africa.”
