wealth of minerals is believed to be present in Lesotho, but attempts
at exploitation have been limited by low investment. Known deposits
include diamonds, uranium, base metals, high-quality stone and clay.
The government hopes that recent policy initiatives will encourage greater
private sector participation in the fledgling mining industry. At present,
interest is mainly focused on diamonds, but output remains on a modest
scale with annual exports estimated at barely 1,000 carats.
Diamonds could be profitably exploited by small or medium-sized companies
in three mountainous areas in northeast Lesotho. There are plans to
revive the industry by reopening the Letseng la Terae mine of the locally-owned
Letseng Diamond Company, in which the government has a 24 per cent stake.
The mine was operated by the South African diamond giant, De Beers,
between 1976 and 1992, but has been closed for several years.
The revitalisation of the mining industry could be a solution to the
problems posed by the rising number of unemployed miners returning to
Lesotho because of low world gold prices and subsequent retrenchment
in the South African mining industry.
Revitalisation
of mining could help solve jobs problem
Thousands of miners from Lesotho lost their jobs
as the crisis hit South African mines. These workings employed almost
130,000 workers from Lesotho in 1989, but the figure has now dropped
to about 50,000 and is continuing to decline at a rate in excess of
15,000 a year.
The British government is backing a $1.3 million project aimed at helping
the unemployed miners adjust on their return to Lesotho. According to
the British High Commission in Maseru, the project will train miners
and their relatives to be economically self-reliant by developing small
businesses.
The aim is to develop their skills for alternative employment. In the
longer term, the returning miners could represent a ready-made workforce,
which will be valuable to an economy that is seeking transferable skills.
Lesotho is equipped to process a much larger volume of diamonds than
at present, were the old mines to be reopened or new deposits made available
for exploitation.
The
country has numerous diamond dealers and two diamond-cutting factories.
It also has a small army of individual gold miners working in volcanic
structures close to Kolo in the Mafeteng district, at Koalabata outside
Maseru, and in the district of Nqechane.
However, the downside of South Africa’s problems, which reflect
the downturn in the world market for diamonds, imply that any attempt
by Lesotho to boost its business will require time and patience, as
well as money. Industry observers say that any development plan will
probably have to be based on a long-term view.
In the meantime, the viability of mining Lesotho’s reserves of
uranium, base metals and clays is being evaluated. Reserves of coal
and bituminous shale have also been discovered in several areas of the
country, although their extent has yet to be established.
What Lesotho appears to lack, or at least so far, are any reserves of
petroleum and natural gas. At present, the country is entirely dependent
on imports to meet its oil needs, although it does have a well-developed
oil refining industry.
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