China Minmetals Corporation chairman Chen Dexin has pledged the group’s long-term commitment to Botswana’s socio-economic development as its subsidiary, MMG Khoemacau, partners with Government and other mining industry stakeholders to establish a Centre of Mining Excellence aimed at addressing the country’s growing shortage of specialised mining skills.
The initiative comes as Botswana’s mining industry undergoes a significant transformation, with copper and other base metals emerging as increasingly important commodities while mining operations become more technology-driven, underground and mechanised.
Chen described the Khoemacau project as a bridge of friendship between China and Botswana and said the proposed Centre would build local capacity through world-class training while creating benefits for communities and the wider region.
“We are committed to a long-term presence in Botswana. Through this centre, we will train a large number of local skilled workers equipped with world-class technologies,” he said.
The Centre of Mining Excellence is being developed through a partnership between MMG Khoemacau and the Ministry of Higher Education, with early works expected to begin by the end of the year and the first cohort targeted for April 2027.
The Centre is intended to address a growing mismatch between the skills being produced by Botswana’s technical and vocational education system and those increasingly required by the mining industry.
Mining Industry in Transition
Minister of Minerals and Energy Bogolo Kenewendo said Botswana was experiencing two major transformations in mining: the emergence of copper and other base metals as major commodities and the rapid development of technology-driven underground mines.
She pointed to developments involving Debswana’s Jwaneng mine, Lucara’s Letlhakane operation and Khoemacau, saying Khoemacau’s underground mines were expected to increase from three to eight.
“These two major transformation changes in the Mining Industry namely; the upsurge in Mechanised Underground Mines and the Base metals /Copper revolution are leading to a challenge of skills shortage as the skills acquired by our young people from Technical Colleges do not match the New Jobs created,” Kenewendo said.
The Centre will focus on developing technical and vocational skills suited to the changing requirements of the mining sector, particularly in underground and mechanised mining.
It is expected to train artisans, operators and other technical specialists required by mining companies, with Kenewendo saying thousands of young Batswana could eventually pass through the Centre for either retooling or developing new skills from scratch.
The initiative is also designed to bring mining companies directly into the development of Botswana’s skills pipeline.
Under the proposed model, mining houses will participate in governance structures guiding the programme, while industry will contribute to curriculum development to ensure training reflects actual requirements in the sector.
The longer-term vision is for the Centre to become a pipeline of skilled workers for mining companies rather than simply another conventional training institution.
Mining companies identified to participate in the initiative include Morupule, Lucara, Jindal, Power, MP Mining, EPROC, Sandfire, Debswana and MMG Khoemacau.
Kenewendo said the Centre would eventually be jointly owned and operated by mining houses, which she said would support its sustainability and long-term continuity.
She urged mining companies to commit to the initiative and said her ministry was prepared to facilitate collaboration.
Industry-Education Partnership
The initiative is also expected to draw on international expertise, including collaboration with the University of Queensland’s Sustainable Minerals Institute, while Maun Technical College will serve as its base.
The agreement signed on Monday follows an earlier Memorandum of Understanding between MMG Khoemacau and the Ministry of Higher Education signed in Maun on July 24.
Higher Education Minister Prince Maele said the July signing marked the point at which the two parties declared their intentions, while the latest Memorandum of Agreement provides a framework for implementation.
Maele said the Centre was intended to become a benchmark for the future of Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) in Botswana by bringing Government, industry and education institutions together around skills development.
He said the agreement provides a framework for ensuring that training remains relevant to industry needs, while allowing mining companies to help shape the skills required for the sector’s future competitiveness.
TVET at the Centre of Transformation
The partnership comes as Government seeks to reposition TVET as a central component of economic transformation.
Maele said the National Technical and Vocational Education Policy had recently been tabled and defended in Parliament, providing a national framework for repositioning TVET as a driver of socio-economic transformation and Botswana’s transition towards a knowledge-based economy.
He said the partnership should produce graduates who are skilled, employable, innovative, adaptable and globally competitive, while creating clearer pathways from training into meaningful employment.
For Botswana’s mining industry, the challenge is increasingly about ensuring that the country’s workforce can keep pace with the technology and changing nature of the mines being developed on its soil.
The proposed Centre of Mining Excellence is intended to close that gap by putting industry at the centre of the skills pipeline.
