Africa-Press – Botswana. Premiere Nickel Resources Botswana (PNRB) is in the process of fast-tracking the drilling of ore exercise in order to accelerate the re-opening of the mine.
The company which purchased BCL’s Selebi and Selebi North mines, completed drilling of ore from the surface in 2022 and has now moved to drill from underground after understanding the ore structure and the amount of ore.
The PNRB vice president for environmental, social and governance, Ms Shamil Agosi, said during a press briefing in Selebi Pikwe on Friday that going underground would cut time the company would take when drilling from the surface.
“We found that indeed the ore from Selebi and Selebi North were part of the same horizons, and moving forward we just completed financing of about 34 million Canadian Dollars and with that we are going to continue fast-tracking the drilling process to understand the character of the remaining resource for us to go into production sooner than later,” she said.
She said PNRB did not just drill but rather used technology to lead them where to drill, adding that this showed the company’s commitment to modernisation and minimising environmental impact.
Explaining when the mine would open, Ms Agosi said PNRB was not a green field mine that would take forever to open as the infrastructure underground was already there.
“We are not starting from zero so part of our acceleration is looking at processing our plants that are supporting our environmental sustainability commitments, so we are looking at further processing. We are working very hard to ensure that we open the mine sooner than later, that is why we decided to go underground nearer to the ore to accelerate our re-opening process,” she said.
Regarding the former PNRB chief executive officer Mr Montwedi Mphathi’s separation with the company, Ms Agosi said it was a mutual separation, adding that the company would continue recognising Mr Mphathi’s immense contribution in the purchasing of Selebi and Selkirk mines as well as his contribution in the mining sector.
For More News And Analysis About Botswana Follow Africa-Press
