"We consulted with Botswana because we know that this country is one that is moving and developing its mining in a way unlike the rest of Africa where resources are simply shipped out," he said. "Botswana helped in the drafting of the legislation and policies for diamond mining. We invited Botswana as one of the stakeholders we consulted with in the process of updating our policy framework."
Ntshalintshali explained that until 1997, Swaziland used to have an open cast diamond mine, which closed when its operator found the costs of going underground unviable. The regulatory framework and KPCS membership are designed to pave way for the revival of diamond mining activities, said the report.
"We had laws but they became outdated and did not take the prevailing environment and international trends into account," explained the engineer. "We thus had to review these, starting with consultations with the various stakeholders from the public to the industry and others. Botswana came in during these consultations."
No comments:
Post a Comment