The mine is located in Orapa, a town in the Central District of Botswana about 240 km (150 mi) west of the city of Francistown.

[1] 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.

[3][1] 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.

The mine maintains an ISO 14001 certificate for environmental compliance, and places some importance on water conservation and waste management.

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