Masama Coal Mine
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Masama Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Gaborone, South Eastern District, Botswana.
Location
Table 1: Project-level location details
| Mine Name | Location | Coordinates (WGS 84) |
|---|---|---|
| Masama Coal Mine | Gaborone, South Eastern District, Botswana[1] | -24.053219, 25.8876081 (exact) |
The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:
Project Details
Table 2: Project status
| Status | Status Detail | Opening Year | Closing Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Operating[2] | – | 2019[3][4] | – |
Table 3: Operation details
| Capacity (Mtpa) | Production (Mtpa) | Year of Production | Mine Type | Mining Method | Mine Size (km2) | Mine Depth (m) | Workforce Size |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5[2] | 0.7[2] | 2024[2] | Surface[2] | Open Pit[2] | 67.0[5] | 130.0[1] | 452.0[2] |
Table 4: Coal resources and destination
| Total Reserves (Mt) | Year of Total Reserves Recorded | Total Resources (Mt) | Coalfield | Coal Type | Coal Grade | Primary Consumer/ Destination |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 69.0[2] | 2024[2] | 374.0[2] | Mmamabula[1] | Bituminous | Thermal[5] | Other Industrial[4] |
Table 5: Ownership and parent company
| Owner | Parent Company | Headquarters |
|---|---|---|
| Minergy Coal[6] | Minergy Ltd [100.0%] | Botswana |
Table 6: Historical production (unit: million tonnes per annum)
| ROM or Saleable | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROM | – | – | – | 0.5[7] | 0.8[7] | 1[7][4] | 0.7*[5] | 0.7[2] | – |
Note: The above sections were automatically generated and are based on data from the Global Coal Mine Tracker May 2026 release.
Ownership Tree
This ownership tree is part of the Global Energy Ownership Tracker, a project of Global Energy Monitor.
Background
The Masama mine is an open-cast and underground coal mine, owned by Botswana-based coal company Minergy Limited, near Gaborone, Botswana. Minergy’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Minergy Coal, holds the mining license.[8]
The mine is the first open-cast coal mining project in Botswana and is one of only two operating mines in Botswana, the other being the Morupule coal mine. Both mines have opened as Botswana seeks to diversify its mining sector away from diamonds, the mainstay of its economy.
The Masama mine is located on the southwestern edge of the Mmamabula Coalfield in southern Botswana. Minergy acquired the project from Shell Coal Botswana and carried out extensive exploration and drilling on the property between 2012 and 2017.[8] In August 2019, the mine produced its first saleable coal, which was exported to South Africa and Namibia.
Masama's coal targets South Africa's industrial markets, including the cement and lime markets, as well as seaborne thermal coal markets.[9]
The mine briefly ceased operations from March to April 2023, due to outstanding debts owed to then-mining contractor, Jarcon Open Cast Mining, which operated Masama's mining tools.[10] According to reports, weakening coal prices led to the payment delinquency.[11]
Operations were interrupted again from October 2023 to March 2024, as Minergy transitioned to a new mining contractor, Meropa Resources.[12]
The estimated life of the mine is 100 years.[8]
Expansion
For the first 25 years of its life, Masama will be a conventional open-cast mining operation using trucks and shovels. At a later stage, Minergy has plans to carry out shallow underground mining involving drill and blast operations to extract the G and K coal seams.[8]
Articles and Resources
Additional data
To access additional data, including an interactive map of world coal mines, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Coal Mine Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://www.minergycoal.com/about-masama/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 (PDF) https://www.minergycoal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Minergy-IAR2024-Final.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.reuters.com/article/us-botswana-coal/botswanas-private-coal-mine-produces-first-saleable-coal-idUSKCN1UX0Y3/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 (PDF) https://www.minergycoal.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Minergy-IAR2022_to-BSE.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 (PDF) https://web.archive.org/web/20240229032208/https://www.minergycoal.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Minergy-IAR2023.pdf. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2024-02-29.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ https://www.minergycoal.com/about-us/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 (PDF) https://www.minergycoal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Minergy-Half-Year-Results-Presentation-2024-FINAL.pdf.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 NS Energy, Masama Coal Project, accessed June 2022
- ↑ 2022 Annual Report, Minergy Coal, accessed October 2023.
- ↑ "Mining Operations at Masama Coal Mine Start Up Again", Minergy Limited, 31 March 2023.
- ↑ Brian Benza, "Botswana's Minergy seeks govt bailout after halting coal mining ops", Reuters, 8 March 2023.
- ↑ Integrated Annual Report 2024, Minergy website, accessed November 2025.
