The Letlhakane diamond mine is a diamond mine located in Botswana about 190 kilometers (120 miles) west of the city of Francistown. Letlhakane, meaning "little reeds", is owned by Debswana, a partnership between the De Beers company and the government of Botswana. It is the second oldest of four mines operated by the company, having begun operations in 1975. Jump to: navigation, search A scattering of round-brilliant cut diamonds shows off the many reflecting facets. ... The El Chino Mine located near Silver City, New Mexico is an open-pit copper mine Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, usually (but not always) from an ore body, vein, or (coal) seam. ... Francistown is the second largest city in Botswana, with a population of about 90,000. ... Jump to: navigation, search Debswana Diamond Company Ltd, or simply Debswana, is a mining company located in Botswana, and is the worlds leading producer of diamonds by value. ... In the common law, a partnership is a type of business entity in which partners share with each other the profits or losses of the business undertaking in which they have all invested. ... The De Beers Group is a Johannesburg- and London-based diamond mining and trading corporation. ... Jump to: navigation, search 1975 was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ...

Letlhakane is of open pit construction. The mine produces 3.6 million tons per year of ore and an additional 15 million tons per year of waste rock. In 2003, the Letlhakane mine produced 1.06 million carats (212 kg) of diamond. The recoverable ore grade at the mine is about 0.26 carats (52 mg) per ton. As of 2005, known reserves will allow production at current levels to continue for 11 years. The ore produced at Letlhakane is processed at a processing plant at its sister mine, Orapa diamond mine, about 50 km (30 miles) distant. The Letlhakane mine is also managed from the Orapa mine. The El Chino mine located near Silver City, New Mexico is an open-pit copper mine Open-pit mining refers to a method of extracting rock or minerals from the earth by their removal from an open pit or borrow. ... An ore is a mineral deposit containing a metal or other valuable resource in economically viable concentrations. ... Jump to: navigation, search 2003(MMIII) is a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The carat is a unit of mass used for gems, and equals 200 milligrams. ... Ore grade is a measure that describes the concentration of a valuable natural material (such as metals or minerals) in its surrounding ore. ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Orapa diamond mine is the worlds largest diamond mine. ...

References

• http://www.debswana.com (Retrieved April 13, 2005)