[2] In January 2008, a small wash plant was commissioned with a production capacity of 120 tonnes per hour.

The purpose of this plant was to supply higher quality coal to local and regional consumers.

The project received support from the Botswana government, as it aimed to stimulate the local economy, produce a cleaner form of coal compared to run-of-mine coal, and offer an alternative to the unsustainable use of wood for cooking and heating.

All required environmental permitting is in place and EIAs are publicly accessible on the Expansion Project website*.

The mine does not produce any discards, does not deposit fines on a slimes dam (these are dispatched to BPC to be burnt in the power station) and does not discharge any effluent water into the environment.

No pillar extraction occurs, and the mine design is conservative to prevent surface subsidence.

Overall coalfield resources within the mining lease area estimated at 5 billion tonnes of coal.