SHOWCASE MINE OF THE WEEK - ORAPA DIAMOND MINE!!

Orapa diamond mine located 240km west of Francistown city in Central Botswana is the ninth largest diamond mine in the world by reserve. The open-pit mine was estimated to contain 85.7Mct of diamond reserves (146.1Mt grading 0.587ct/t diamond) as of December 2012. Orapa has been in production since 1971. It is the oldest of the four diamond mines operated by Debswana. The kimberlite pipe mined by Orapa is one of the largest in the world. It covers an area of 118km² at the surface. Orapa produced 11.089Mct of diamonds in 2012, compared to 11.158Mct in 2011. Orapa is the world’s biggest diamond mine based on 2012 production. The mine achieved a record production of 17.3Mct in 2006 - Mining Technology.