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Letlhakane Mine, Letlhakane, Central District, Botswanai
Regional Level Types
Letlhakane MineMine
LetlhakaneVillage
Central DistrictDistrict
BotswanaCountry

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04963570017272034102582.jpg
Diamond

Letlhakane Mine, Letlhakane, Central District, Botswana
04963570017272034102582.jpg
Diamond

Letlhakane Mine, Letlhakane, Central District, Botswana
04963570017272034102582.jpg
Diamond

Letlhakane Mine, Letlhakane, Central District, Botswana
Type:
Mine
Owned/operated by:
Debswana Diamond Company Ltd (50%) - a joint venture of De Beers Group of Companies
Mindat Locality ID:
14296
Long-form identifier:
mindat:1:2:14296:5
GUID (UUID V4):
0


A diamond mine in a kimberlite pipe, owned by Debswana, a 50:50 joint venture of De Beers and the Botswanian government. The deposit was discovered in 1970 and production started in 1973. The mine works two pipes, of which the larger one was mined continuously since the mine was started. The smaller pipe was only worked for a short period of time, from June 1985 to May 1986. While the diamond grade of the pipe is considerably lower than that at Orapa, Letlhakane produces diamonds of higher quality. In 2004, it produced 1.03 million ct from 3.4 million tons of ore. About 40% of the stones are of gem-quality.

The pipe hosts a varied suite of mantle xenoliths, including peridotites, pyroxenites, eclogites, megacrysts and glimmerites.

Located 40 km southeast of the Orapa mine and about 190 km west of Francistown.

Select Mineral List Type

Standard Detailed Gallery Strunz Chemical Elements

Commodity List

This is a list of exploitable or exploited mineral commodities recorded at this locality.


Mineral List


7 valid minerals.

Detailed Mineral List:

ⓘ 'Chrome-Spinel (of Dana)'
ⓘ Diamond
Formula: C
ⓘ Diopside
Formula: CaMgSi2O6
ⓘ Diopside var. Chromium-bearing Diopside
Formula: Ca(Mg,Cr)Si2O6
ⓘ Enstatite
Formula: Mg2Si2O6
ⓘ Forsterite
Formula: Mg2(SiO4)
ⓘ 'Garnet Group'
Formula: X3Z2(SiO4)3
ⓘ Ilmenite
Formula: Fe2+TiO3
ⓘ Phlogopite
Formula: KMg3(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
ⓘ Spinel
Formula: MgAl2O4

Gallery:

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 1 - Elements
ⓘDiamond1.CB.10aC
Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides
ⓘSpinel4.BB.05MgAl2O4
ⓘIlmenite4.CB.05Fe2+TiO3
Group 9 - Silicates
ⓘForsterite9.AC.05Mg2(SiO4)
ⓘEnstatite9.DA.05Mg2Si2O6
ⓘDiopside
var. Chromium-bearing Diopside		9.DA.15Ca(Mg,Cr)Si2O6
ⓘ9.DA.15CaMgSi2O6
ⓘPhlogopite9.EC.20KMg3(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
Unclassified
ⓘ'Chrome-Spinel (of Dana)'-
ⓘ'Garnet Group'-X3Z2(SiO4)3

List of minerals for each chemical element

HHydrogen
Hⓘ PhlogopiteKMg3(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
CCarbon
Cⓘ DiamondC
OOxygen
Oⓘ Diopside var. Chromium-bearing DiopsideCa(Mg,Cr)Si2O6
Oⓘ DiopsideCaMgSi2O6
Oⓘ EnstatiteMg2Si2O6
Oⓘ ForsteriteMg2(SiO4)
Oⓘ IlmeniteFe2+TiO3
Oⓘ PhlogopiteKMg3(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
Oⓘ SpinelMgAl2O4
Oⓘ Garnet GroupX3Z2(SiO4)3
MgMagnesium
Mgⓘ Diopside var. Chromium-bearing DiopsideCa(Mg,Cr)Si2O6
Mgⓘ DiopsideCaMgSi2O6
Mgⓘ EnstatiteMg2Si2O6
Mgⓘ ForsteriteMg2(SiO4)
Mgⓘ PhlogopiteKMg3(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
Mgⓘ SpinelMgAl2O4
AlAluminium
Alⓘ PhlogopiteKMg3(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
Alⓘ SpinelMgAl2O4
SiSilicon
Siⓘ Diopside var. Chromium-bearing DiopsideCa(Mg,Cr)Si2O6
Siⓘ DiopsideCaMgSi2O6
Siⓘ EnstatiteMg2Si2O6
Siⓘ ForsteriteMg2(SiO4)
Siⓘ PhlogopiteKMg3(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
Siⓘ Garnet GroupX3Z2(SiO4)3
KPotassium
Kⓘ PhlogopiteKMg3(AlSi3O10)(OH)2
CaCalcium
Caⓘ Diopside var. Chromium-bearing DiopsideCa(Mg,Cr)Si2O6
Caⓘ DiopsideCaMgSi2O6
TiTitanium
Tiⓘ IlmeniteFe2+TiO3
CrChromium
Crⓘ Diopside var. Chromium-bearing DiopsideCa(Mg,Cr)Si2O6
FeIron
Feⓘ IlmeniteFe2+TiO3

Fossils

This region is too big or complex to display the fossil list, try looking at smaller subregions.

Other Databases

Wikipedia:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letlhakane_diamond_mine
Wikidata ID:Q6533434


This page contains all mineral locality references listed on mindat.org. This does not claim to be a complete list. If you know of more minerals from this site, please register so you can add to our database. This locality information is for reference purposes only. You should never attempt to visit any sites listed in mindat.org without first ensuring that you have the permission of the land and/or mineral rights holders for access and that you are aware of all safety precautions necessary.

References

Mining Annual Review (1985) 147 & 415.
Stiefenhofer, J., Viljoen, K. S., Marsh, J. S. (1997) Petrology and geochemistry of peridotite xenoliths from the Letlhakane kimberlites, Botswana. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology, 127 (1) 147-158 doi:10.1007/s004100050272
Field, Matthew; Stiefenhofer, Johann; Robey, Jock; Kurszlaukis, Stephan (2008) Kimberlite-hosted diamond deposits of southern Africa: A review. Ore Geology Reviews, 34 (1). doi:10.1016/j.oregeorev.2007.11.002
Belohlavek, Lukas, Hauzenberger, Christoph, Proyer, Alexander (2018) Petrology and geochemistry of spinel and garnet peridotites from the Lethlakane Diamond Mine, Botswana. EGU General Assembly 2018, Geophysical Research Abstracts, 18400.
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