The Orapa diamond mine is the world's largest

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, b ...

mine by area. The mine is located in

Orapa Orapa is a town located in the Central District of Botswana. It is the site of the Orapa diamond mine, the largest diamond-producing mine in the world, and is considered to be the diamond capital of the country. Nearby is another kimberlite mi ...

, a town in the Central District of

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...

about west of the city of

Francistown Francistown is the second largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 103,417 and 147,122 inhabitants for its agglomeration at the 2022 census. and often described as the "''Capital of the North''" or as the natives would have it “''T ...

. Orapa ("resting place for lions") is owned by

Debswana Debswana Diamond Company Limited, or simply Debswana, is a mining company located in Botswana, and is the world's leading producer of diamonds by value. Debswana operates four diamond mines in the eastern and central parts of Botswana, as well a ...

, a

partnership A partnership is an arrangement where parties, known as business partners, agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments ...

between the

De Beers De Beers Group is an international corporation that specializes in diamond mining, diamond exploitation, diamond retail, diamond trading and industrial diamond manufacturing sectors. The company is active in open-pit, large-scale alluvial and ...

company and the government of Botswana. The mine was discovered on 1 March 1967, a year after Botswana's independence, by a team of De Beers geologists, including Manfred Marx, Jim Gibson and led by Dr. Gavin Lamont. It is the oldest of four mines operated by the company, and began operations in July 1971 and its first production was 1,438,168 carats. The revenue the mine generated is credited for transforming the Botswana economy, as it allowed the government to invest in critical social services and national infrastructure. Orapa is an open pit style of mine and is the largest diamond mine in the world by area. The mine is located on two

kimberlite Kimberlite is an igneous rock and a rare variant of peridotite. It is most commonly known to be the main host matrix for diamonds. It is named after the town of Kimberley in South Africa, where the discovery of an diamond called the Star of S ...

pipes Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to: Objects * Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules ** Piping, the use of pipes in industry * Smoking pipe ** Tobacco pipe * Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circula ...

that converge near the surface, covering . Orapa operates seven days per week, and produces of ore and an additional of waste rock per year. Currently, the Orapa mine annually produces approximately of diamonds. The recoverable

ore grade Ore is natural rock or sediment that contains one or more valuable minerals, typically containing metals, that can be mined, treated and sold at a profit.Encyclopædia Britannica. "Ore". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Retrieved 7 April 2 ...

at the mine is about per tonne. The mine was expanded in 1999, doubling its previous capacity. The processing plant at Orapa processes the ore produced at Orapa as well as two of Debswana's three other mines, the

Letlhakane Letlhakane is a village in the Central District of Botswana. Letlhakane is the headquarters of the Boteti sub-district. It is located south of Mmatshumo and the population of the village was 22,911 in 2011 census. Within 15–20 km of Le ...

and

Damtshaa diamond mine The Damtshaa diamond mine is a diamond mine located in Botswana about 220 km (137 miles) west of the city of Francistown. Damtshaa, meaning "water for a tortoise", is owned by Debswana, a partnership between the De Beers company, Aquarius ...

s. Orapa and its sister mine Letlhakane employ over 3,100. Debswana also maintains a 100-bed

hospital A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment with specialized health science and auxiliary healthcare staff and medical equipment. The best-known type of hospital is the general hospital, which typically has an emergen ...

, pre-primary and primary schools for employees' children, and the

Orapa game park Orapa is a town located in the Central District of Botswana. It is the site of the Orapa diamond mine, the largest diamond-producing mine in the world, and is considered to be the diamond capital of the country. Nearby is another kimberlite min ...

. The mine maintains an

ISO 14001 ISO 14000 is a family of standards related to environmental management that exists to help organizations (a) minimize how their operations (processes, etc.) negatively affect the environment (i.e. cause adverse changes to air, water, or land); (b) ...

certificate for environmental compliance, and places some importance on

water conservation Water conservation includes all the policies, strategies and activities to sustainably manage the natural resource of fresh water, to protect the hydrosphere, and to meet the current and future human demand (thus avoiding water scarcity). Popula ...

and

waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitorin ...

. The preserved

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

(

Turonian The Turonian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the second age in the Late Cretaceous Epoch, or a stage in the Upper Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 93.9 ± 0.8 Ma and 89.8 ± 1 Ma (million years ago). The Turonian is preceded b ...

~94-90 million years old) lake sediments overlying the pipe are an important locality for fossil insects.

References

Debswana diamond mines
(Retrieved April 13, 2005)
Orapa
(Retrieved April 29, 2008)

External links

* https://en.israelidiamond.co.il/wikidiamond/diamond-mining-mines/orapa-diamond-mine/ {{Botswana-geo-stub Diamond mines in Botswana Diatremes of Botswana Open-pit mines Pre-Holocene volcanoes Surface mines in Botswana