Lerala

Location of Lerala

Lerala is a village in Central District of Botswana. The village is located at the southeastern end of the Tswapong Hills, 30 km from the Limpopo River and the border with Zimbabwe and approximately 90 km east of Palapye. The population of Lerala was 5,747 in 2001 census.[1]

An Australian company, DiamonEx Limited, is planning to open a diamond mine 15 km north-west of the village. The mine also known as Martins Drift Diamond Project is scheduled to open early 2008 and will employ 230–290 people to produce an estimated 330,000 carats (66 kg) per year.[2][3] Previously a joint company between De Beers and the Botswana government operated between 1998–2001 a smaller exploratory diamond mine at the same site.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Distribution of population by sex by villages and their associated localities: 2001 population and housing census". Archived from the original on 2007-11-24. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
  2. ↑ "Diamonex Limited Acquires Kimberlite Pipes In USA". ABN Newswire. Retrieved 2008-01-20.
  3. ↑ Modikwa, Onalenna (2006-05-22). "Production To Begin On Martins Drift Next Year". Mmegi Business Week. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
  4. ↑ "Lerala mine closes". Botswana Press Agency (BOPA). Retrieved 2008-01-20.

    Coordinates: 22°46′49″S 27°46′37″E / 22.78028°S 27.77694°E