Minerals Minister Lefoko Moagi has adhered to a court order instructing him to renew a prospecting mining license held by Canadian mining junior, Tsodilo Resources Limited, which operates Gcwihaba Pty Ltd in northern Botswana.
This comes after the mining junior asked the court to jail Minister Moagi for defying a court order handed down in December to renew prospecting license.
Tsodilo announced this week that prospecting licenses were collected from the Department of Mines (DOM) on February 19, 2023, but identified several discrepancies or inconsistencies that require attention, and they will engage DOM to rectify these issues. Once the issues are resolved, the company plans to withdraw the contempt motion filed on January 23, 2024.
Commenting on the latest development, Tsodilo’s Chairman and CEO, James Bruchs, stated that is a great relief to put the matter behind them.
“Staff and contractors have been standing by, ready to finish the work needed to complete the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). Also, since the decision was issued on December 15, 2023, there has been renewed interest from investors and third parties wanting information on the project,” he said.
Bruchs added; “At the Mining Indaba in Cape Town, SA earlier this month, we were able to present our Xaudum Iron Formation (XIF) and other metals projects to interested parties without having to belabour the license issues.”
“I have mentioned previously, but it is worth repeating; since 2014 the Botswana Government has publicly expressed its support for the XIF project and we look forward to working with the Ministry of Minerals and Energy and the Ministry of Environment and Tourism as we continue our work to bring the XIF into production,” said Bruchs.
Tsodilo Resources had dragged before the High Court for failing to comply with a Court order directing Moagi to renew a prospecting mining license belonging to Gcwihaba. The purpose of the application was to compel compliance with the judgment granted by the Court on 15 December 2023 and that Moagi be imprisoned for being in contempt of the order.
The High Court had said that Moagi was irrational in rejecting the application for renewal of the Gcwihaba prospecting license.
