Botswana Expands Mining Exploration Strategy to Reduce Diamond Dependence and Target Critical Minerals
Botswana is preparing to significantly increase mining exploration activity including the search for critical minerals as it moves to reduce its long-standing dependence on diamonds.
Mines Minister Bogolo Joy Kenewendo announced on Tuesday that the government plans to survey the approximately 70% of the country’s territory that remains geologically unexplored.
The Southern African nation, widely regarded as one of Africa’s most stable and well-managed economies, has been severely impacted by a prolonged downturn in the global diamond market.
The slump has been driven by broader economic uncertainty and the rising popularity of lab-grown diamonds.
Diamonds traditionally account for roughly one-third of Botswana’s national revenue and about three-quarters of its foreign exchange earnings, underscoring the urgency of economic diversification.
Diversification Beyond Diamonds
While diamonds will remain central to the mining sector, Kenewendo made clear that Botswana intends to broaden its mineral portfolio, particularly into critical minerals essential for advanced manufacturing, renewable energy systems, and electrification technologies.
To support this strategy, the government has launched a new state-owned exploration company tasked with increasing exploration intensity and improving geological data collection.
“We were doing more exploration looking for diamonds than looking for other high-value minerals. And now we’re going to change that,” Kenewendo said in an interview with Reuters on the sidelines of an African mining conference in Cape Town.
She emphasized that the country’s historical exploration bias toward diamonds has left significant untapped geological potential elsewhere. “If you’ve only explored 30% of your country, it really just shows our strong focus on diamonds,” she noted.
Reducing Investor Risk
Kenewendo acknowledged that private investors are often cautious about greenfield exploration due to its high-risk nature. Exploration campaigns can require substantial capital with no guarantee of commercially viable discoveries.
“There’s a little hesitation from investors to go into exploration. You can lose a lot of money by exploring and not hitting anything,” she said. “We want to ensure that we have the right data, we know what’s where, so that we can also decide if we want to be investors in that space.”
By strengthening geological datasets and potentially taking a more active role in early-stage exploration, the government aims to de-risk opportunities and attract downstream private investment.
Emerging Copper and Critical Minerals Focus
Botswana is already the world’s leading diamond producer by value and is increasingly positioning itself as a regional copper producer.
Growing global competition for strategic resources particularly between the United States and China has intensified interest in critical minerals such as copper and cobalt, which are essential for battery production and clean energy infrastructure.
Kenewendo confirmed that the United States has expressed interest in partnering with Botswana on exploration and mining initiatives, although discussions remain preliminary.
“We will see how that goes,” she said. “We’re just engaging in general investments in the mineral space.”
If successfully implemented, Botswana’s expanded exploration strategy could reshape the country’s mineral economy, strengthen fiscal resilience, and position it as a more diversified supplier in the global critical minerals value chain.
