Selebi-Phikwe (also spelt Selibe Phikwe) is a mining town located in the Central District of Botswana. It had a population of 42,488 in 2022.[2] The town is an administrative district, separate from the surrounding Central District.[3]
Nickelmining commenced in 1973 and has been the main activity since.[4] The complex includes a mine and a smelter. All operations are now deep mining. Originally there were two tiny places called Selebi and Phikwe, which straddled a large undiscovered deposit of copper and nickel in the area. When the mineral wealth of the area was discovered in the 1960s a mine and a township were built in the woodland between the places with the combined name of Selebi-Phikwe.
The main source of employment was the BCL Limited mine which excavated and smelted mixed copper-nickel ore from several shafts in deep and opencast mines. The opencast pit is now unused. Ore is transported from the shaft by rail for smelting. The locomotives used were steam-powered, having been bought from National Railways of Zimbabwe (NRZ) and South African Railways (SAR).
BCL only intended to stay in operation until 2010 and more recently 2013. It finally ceased operations in September 2016 putting thousands out of work.[5]
Phikwe Industrial Area provides premises for Factories and Business Houses as ancillary for the Mine. Construction companies include Watson, GSP, etc., SP Electricals, Britannia Backers, George Backers and Change and CO.
Voice of America Botswana Shortwave Relay Facility
Energy
A small coal-fired power station was built along with the mine to meet the electricity needs of the mining operation and the surrounding area. Until the late 1980s, this was the only power station in Botswana. It was closed down some years ago when the Morupule Power Station began to produce power. Most of the electricity demand was met by importing electricity from South Africa. In the current situation of 'rationing' by the South African power supplier Eskom, Botswana suffers from power shortages.
In 2010, a private company ENERGY POINT (PTY) LTD, promoted by a foreign direct investor from India, started its operation of the Manufacturing of UPS, inverters, surge protectors etc. But the investor could not continue due to non compliance of BEDI and a government promise to provide basic infrastructure such as industrial land etc. Still, the company made a significant mark in this area giving most of the businesses and residences an uninterrupted power supply.
Amenities and tourism
The town itself has a principal shopping mall, First Shopping Mall LESEDI shopping mall with ABC Bank and Barclays Extension Counter, Phikwe Square. There are five in-town hotels (Hotel Stonehouse, Hotel Selebi, Cresta Bosele, Syringa Lodge and Travel Inn), several guest houses and a number of serviced apartment complexes. The Phokoje Bush Lodge is about seven kilometres from town. The town has a small airport which only operates during daylight hours but does not have refuelling facilities. It has a technical college for artisan level training. A College of Applied Arts & Technology is being planned.
The town is on a tourist route from South Africa to the popular destinations of Okavango and Chobe. There is significant potential for birdwatching and fishing (bass and bream are well established but are not indigenous) at the Letsibogo Dam but, unfortunately, it is difficult to gain access to the dam due to rough terrain and necessity to camp on the shore. An experimental population of tigerfish (indigenous to the Limpopo basin) was introduced in 2009 which has proven that the environment would be suitable. The introduced population is thought to be insufficient for breeding. There are some local camp sites a few kilometres away from the dam. The water and wildlife at Letsibogo do not appear to have been negatively impacted by the pollution from BCL.
Selebi-Phikwe has seven government schools and across the town, Selebi Phikwe Senior Secondary School. Private schools include Kopano Primary, Morula Primary and Mount Pleasant Primary.
Selebi Phikwe hosts the biggest marathon in Botswana, the Phikwe Marathon; it was started by the late Boet Kahts and Phill Roberts who was a teacher at Selebi Phikwe Senior Secondary School in 1985 as a gesture of Community Service.[clarification needed] The Marathon is classified as one of the best in the world by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). A report for SPEDU (Selebi Phikwe Economic Development), a local Regional Development Agency, suggests that there is significant potential for expansion of the marathon and also to apply the skills and experience gained by running that event for other events such as cross country cycling and quad biking and for bass fishing competitions at the Letsibogo Dam. The latter site also offers potential for bird watching and sailing if the infrastructure mentioned above were to be established.
^Ekosse, G-I; De Jager, L; Van den Heever, DJ (2008-06-18). "Headaches among residents within the Selebi Phikwe Nickel-Copper mining environment, Botswana". African Journal of Health Sciences. 13 (3). doi:10.4314/ajhs.v13i3.30835. ISSN 1022-9272.
^"6,000 jobs to go at state-owned mines in Botswana". IndustriALL. 2016-10-19. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
^"Eastern Military Garrison celebrates soldiers". dailynews.gov.bw. 1 March 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
External links
Selibe Phikwe Airport
January 07, 2023
selebi, phikwe, also, spelt, selibe, phikwe, mining, town, located, central, district, botswana, population, 2022, town, administrative, district, separate, from, surrounding, central, district, citycoordinates, 97583, 84000, 97583, 84000, coordinates, 97583, . Selebi Phikwe also spelt Selibe Phikwe is a mining town located in the Central District of Botswana It had a population of 42 488 in 2022 2 The town is an administrative district separate from the surrounding Central District 3 Selebi PhikweCitySelebi PhikweCoordinates 21 58 33 S 27 50 24 E 21 97583 S 27 84000 E 21 97583 27 84000 Coordinates 21 58 33 S 27 50 24 E 21 97583 S 27 84000 E 21 97583 27 84000Country BotswanaDistrictCentralElevation 1 878 m 2 881 ft Population 2022 2 Total42 488Time zoneUTC 2 Central Africa Time Summer DST UTC 2 not observed ISO 3166 codeBW CEClimateBSh Contents 1 Mining 2 Government and infrastructure 3 Energy 4 Amenities and tourism 5 Notable people 6 References 7 External linksMining EditNickel mining commenced in 1973 and has been the main activity since 4 The complex includes a mine and a smelter All operations are now deep mining Originally there were two tiny places called Selebi and Phikwe which straddled a large undiscovered deposit of copper and nickel in the area When the mineral wealth of the area was discovered in the 1960s a mine and a township were built in the woodland between the places with the combined name of Selebi Phikwe The main source of employment was the BCL Limited mine which excavated and smelted mixed copper nickel ore from several shafts in deep and opencast mines The opencast pit is now unused Ore is transported from the shaft by rail for smelting The locomotives used were steam powered having been bought from National Railways of Zimbabwe NRZ and South African Railways SAR BCL only intended to stay in operation until 2010 and more recently 2013 It finally ceased operations in September 2016 putting thousands out of work 5 Government and infrastructure EditThe Botswana Prison Service BPS operates the Selebi Phikwe Prison 6 Phikwe Industrial Area provides premises for Factories and Business Houses as ancillary for the Mine Construction companies include Watson GSP etc SP Electricals Britannia Backers George Backers and Change and CO The town is also home to the Eastern Military Garrison run by the Botswana Defence Force 7 Voice of America Botswana Shortwave Relay FacilityEnergy EditA small coal fired power station was built along with the mine to meet the electricity needs of the mining operation and the surrounding area Until the late 1980s this was the only power station in Botswana It was closed down some years ago when the Morupule Power Station began to produce power Most of the electricity demand was met by importing electricity from South Africa In the current situation of rationing by the South African power supplier Eskom Botswana suffers from power shortages In 2010 a private company ENERGY POINT PTY LTD promoted by a foreign direct investor from India started its operation of the Manufacturing of UPS inverters surge protectors etc But the investor could not continue due to non compliance of BEDI and a government promise to provide basic infrastructure such as industrial land etc Still the company made a significant mark in this area giving most of the businesses and residences an uninterrupted power supply Amenities and tourism EditThe town itself has a principal shopping mall First Shopping Mall LESEDI shopping mall with ABC Bank and Barclays Extension Counter Phikwe Square There are five in town hotels Hotel Stonehouse Hotel Selebi Cresta Bosele Syringa Lodge and Travel Inn several guest houses and a number of serviced apartment complexes The Phokoje Bush Lodge is about seven kilometres from town The town has a small airport which only operates during daylight hours but does not have refuelling facilities It has a technical college for artisan level training A College of Applied Arts amp Technology is being planned The town is on a tourist route from South Africa to the popular destinations of Okavango and Chobe There is significant potential for birdwatching and fishing bass and bream are well established but are not indigenous at the Letsibogo Dam but unfortunately it is difficult to gain access to the dam due to rough terrain and necessity to camp on the shore An experimental population of tigerfish indigenous to the Limpopo basin was introduced in 2009 which has proven that the environment would be suitable The introduced population is thought to be insufficient for breeding There are some local camp sites a few kilometres away from the dam The water and wildlife at Letsibogo do not appear to have been negatively impacted by the pollution from BCL Selebi Phikwe has seven government schools and across the town Selebi Phikwe Senior Secondary School Private schools include Kopano Primary Morula Primary and Mount Pleasant Primary Selebi Phikwe hosts the biggest marathon in Botswana the Phikwe Marathon it was started by the late Boet Kahts and Phill Roberts who was a teacher at Selebi Phikwe Senior Secondary School in 1985 as a gesture of Community Service clarification needed The Marathon is classified as one of the best in the world by the International Association of Athletics Federations IAAF A report for SPEDU Selebi Phikwe Economic Development a local Regional Development Agency suggests that there is significant potential for expansion of the marathon and also to apply the skills and experience gained by running that event for other events such as cross country cycling and quad biking and for bass fishing competitions at the Letsibogo Dam The latter site also offers potential for bird watching and sailing if the infrastructure mentioned above were to be established Notable people EditShepard Mosekgwa born 1976 Botswanan retired footballerReferences Edit Selebi Phikwe Botswana Page Falling Rain Genomics Inc a b Statistics Bostwana Census 2022 Population of cities towns and villages PDF Laws of Botswana Ministry of Local Government Ekosse G I De Jager L Van den Heever DJ 2008 06 18 Headaches among residents within the Selebi Phikwe Nickel Copper mining environment Botswana African Journal of Health Sciences 13 3 doi 10 4314 ajhs v13i3 30835 ISSN 1022 9272 6 000 jobs to go at state owned mines in Botswana IndustriALL 2016 10 19 Retrieved 2022 05 29 Prisons and Rehabilitation Archive Government of Botswana Retrieved on 26 March 2013 Eastern Military Garrison celebrates soldiers dailynews gov bw 1 March 2017 Retrieved 24 July 2020 External links EditSelibe Phikwe Airport Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Selebi Phikwe amp oldid 1102751198, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
