Morupule Coal Mine

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Morupule Coal Mine is an operating coal mine in Palapye, Central District, Botswana.

Location

Table 1: Project-level location details

Mine Name	Location	Coordinates (WGS 84)
Morupule Coal Mine	Palapye, Central District, Botswana	-22.515389, 27.024167 (exact)

The map below shows the exact location of the coal mine:

Loading map...

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Project Details

Table 2: Project status

Status	Status Detail	Opening Year	Closing Year
Operating	–	1973	–

Table 3: Operation details

Note: The asterisk (*) signifies that the value is a GEM estimated figure.

Capacity (Mtpa)	Production (Mtpa)	Year of Production	Mine Type	Mining Method	Mine Size (km2)	Mine Depth (m)	Workforce Size
4.2	2.8	2021	Underground & Surface	Mixed	425	60*	456*

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
40	–	4285	–	Subbituminous	Thermal	Morupule A Power Station ; Morupule B power station

Table 5: Ownership and parent company

Owner	Parent Company	Headquarters
Minerals Development Company Botswana	Minerals Development Company Botswana	Botswana

Note: The above section was automatically generated and is based on data from the GEM April 2024 Global Coal Mine Tracker dataset.

Background

The Morupule coal mine is an underground mine producing approximately 2.8 million tonnes per annum, near Palapye, Botswana. It is wholly-owned by Minerals Development Company Botswana (MDCB). The Anglo American Corporation received a mining lease in 1966 and developed a colliery at the Morupule coalfield, which opened in 1973. MCM ownership was transferred to Debswana Diamond Company in 2000, when Anglo disinvested its operations in Botswana. In 2016, the De Beers interest in MCM (held under Debswana) was acquired by the Minerals Development Company Botswana, giving them 100% ownership.

Morupule Coal Mine has a mining lease area covering approximately 42531 hectares, and has four resource blocks: MCM 1, MCM 2, MCM 3 North, and MCM 3 South. The main underground mine is currently operating at its MCM 1 resource.

Today, the mine supplies power to the Morupule B power station. It is one of two currently operating mines in Botswana (although more are planned); the other is the Masama coal mine.

• Operator: Morupule Coal Mine Limited
• Owner: Minerals Development Company Botswana (MDCB)
• Location: Palapye, Botswana
• GPS Coordinates: -22.515137, 27.024339 (exact)
• Status Operating
• Production: 2.8 million tonnes per annum
• Total Resources: 4285 million tonnes
• Mineable Reserves: 40 million tonnes (Proven), 1200 million tonnes (Inferred)
• Coal Type: Subbituminous
• Mine Size: 425.3 km2
• Mine Type: Underground and surface
• Start Year: 1973
• Source of Financing:

Expansion

Morupule currently has an expansion plan, called Project Motheo, to increase production at the Morupule coal mine through the construction of an open pit mine.

In 2021, the proposed addition of a second mine at the site would increase the expected production of the mine by 35% to 3.8 million tonnes, up from a 2.8 million tonnes per annum. In April 2021, a 5-year mining services contract was awarded to a joint venture between the local citizen-owned company Bothakga Burrow and South-African-based Basil Read Mining. Groundbreaking began in November 2021, while the project's commissioning phase, which was originally scheduled to start by December 2021, is now scheduled for spring 2022.

The mine opened in September 2023.

The Motheo project will mine the MCM 3 resource block which has potential to supply power station grade coal for over 30 years.

Project Expansion Details

• Status: Operating
• Capacity: 1.4 million tonnes
• Mineable Reserves:
• Start Year: 2022
• Source of Funding:

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.