This opencast diamond mine, owned by Debswana, is a 50:50 joint venture of De Beers and the Botswanan government. The mine works two pipes, the northern (older) one was discovered in 1967 by De Beers geologists using traditional heavy-mineral sampling. Production started in 1971.

The mine is currently one of the largest diamond producers. In 2004, it produced 16.9 million carats, which was about 15% of world production.

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.

ⓘ Diamond

Mineral List

ⓘ 'Clinopyroxene Subgroup'

4 valid minerals. 1 (TL) - type locality of valid minerals.

Rock Types Recorded

Note: data is currently VERY limited. Please bear with us while we work towards adding this information!

Select Rock List Type

Alphabetical List Tree Diagram

ⓘ Eclogite

ⓘ Kimberlite

Detailed Mineral List:

ⓘ 'Clinopyroxene Subgroup'

References:

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

ⓘ Cubo-ice (TL)

Formula: H₂O

Type Locality:

References:

Hålenius, U., Hatert, F., Pasero, M., Mills, S. J. (2017) New minerals and nomenclature modifications approved in 2017, CNMNC Newsletter No 38. Mineralogical Magazine, 81 (4) 1033-1038 doi:10.1180/minmag.2017.081.062

Tschauner, O., Huang, S., Greenberg, E., Prakapenka, V. B., Ma, C., Rossman, G. R., Shen, A. H., Zhang, D., Newville, M., Lanzirotti, A., Tait, K. (2018) Ice-VII inclusions in diamonds: Evidence for aqueous fluid in Earth’s deep mantle. Science, 359 (6380). 1136-1139 doi:10.1126/science.aao3030

ⓘ Diamond

Formula: C

References:

Gübelin, E. and Wolgensinger, M. (1976) Edelstenen. Uitgeverij Artis, Brussel (in Dutch).

Mining Annual Review (1985) 147 & 415.

Morris, N. (2005) Diamonds and other gems. Appleseed Editions Ltd, East Sussex.

Ashchepkov, Igor, Logvinova, Alla, Spetsius, Zdislav, Downes, Hilary, Ntaflos, Theodoros, Ivanov, Alexandr, Zinchenko, Vladimir, Kostrovitsky, Sergey, Ovchinnikov, Yury (2022) Eclogite Varieties and Their Positions in the Cratonic Mantle Lithosphere beneath Siberian Craton and Archean Cratons Worldwide. Minerals, 12 (11) 1353 doi:10.3390/min12111353

ⓘ Diamond var. Ballas

Formula: C

References:

Shiryaev, Andrei A., Kaminsky, Felix V., Pavlushin, Anton D., Yapaskurt, Vasily O., Zolotov, Denis A., Averin, Alexei A., Zhilicheva, Olga M., Nickolsky, Maximilian S., Kuznetsova, Olga V. (2023) Structural Peculiarities of Natural Ballas—Spheroidal Variety of Polycrystalline Diamond. Crystals, 13 (4) 624 doi:10.3390/cryst13040624

ⓘ 'Garnet Group'

Formula: X₃Z₂(SiO₄)₃

References:

ⓘ Graphite

Formula: C

References:

ⓘ Ilmenite

Formula: Fe²⁺TiO₃

References:

ⓘ 'Pyroxene Group'

Formula: ADSi₂O₆

References:

Gallery:

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

Group 1 - Elements
ⓘ	Graphite	1.CB.05a	C
ⓘ	Diamond var. Ballas	1.CB.10a	C
ⓘ		1.CB.10a	C
Group 4 - Oxides and Hydroxides
ⓘ	Cubo-ice (TL)	4.AA.10	H₂O
ⓘ	Ilmenite	4.CB.05	Fe²⁺TiO₃
Unclassified
ⓘ	'Clinopyroxene Subgroup'	-
ⓘ	'Pyroxene Group'	-	ADSi₂O₆
ⓘ	'Garnet Group'	-	X₃Z₂(SiO₄)₃

List of minerals for each chemical element

H	Hydrogen
H	ⓘ Cubo-ice	H₂O
C	Carbon
C	ⓘ Diamond var. Ballas	C
C	ⓘ Diamond	C
C	ⓘ Graphite	C
O	Oxygen
O	ⓘ Ilmenite	Fe²⁺TiO₃
O	ⓘ Pyroxene Group	ADSi₂O₆
O	ⓘ Garnet Group	X₃Z₂(SiO₄)₃
O	ⓘ Cubo-ice	H₂O
Si	Silicon
Si	ⓘ Pyroxene Group	ADSi₂O₆
Si	ⓘ Garnet Group	X₃Z₂(SiO₄)₃
Ti	Titanium
Ti	ⓘ Ilmenite	Fe²⁺TiO₃
Fe	Iron
Fe	ⓘ Ilmenite	Fe²⁺TiO₃

Other Databases

Wikipedia:	https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orapa_diamond_mine
Wikidata ID:	Q859817

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

AfricaContinent

African PlateTectonic Plate

Kalahari basinBasin
Kalahari Craton
- Limpopo BeltShield

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

Gübelin, E., Wolgensinger, M. (1976) Edelstenen. Uitgeverij Artis, Brussel (in Dutch).

O'Neil, Paul (1983) Planet Earth - Gemstones. Time Life Books, Alexandria, VA.

Mining Annual Review (1985) 147 & 415.

Morris, N. (2005) Diamonds and other gems. Appleseed Editions Ltd, East Sussex.

www.debswana.com (n.d.) http://www.debswana.com/Operations/Pages/Orapa-Mine.aspx

www.mining-technology.com (n.d.) https://www.mining-technology.com/projects/orapa-diamond-mine-botswana/

miningdataonline.com (n.d.) https://miningdataonline.com/property/1604/Orapa-Operation.aspx

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Orapa Mine, Orapa, Letlhakane, Central District, BotswanaiRegional Level TypesOrapa MineMine OrapaTown LetlhakaneVillage Central DistrictDistrict BotswanaCountry function showexplain() { $("#locexplain").toggle(); if (typeof movemap === "function") movemap(); }

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Commodity List

Mineral List

Rock Types Recorded

Select Rock List Type

Detailed Mineral List:

Gallery:

List of minerals arranged by Strunz 10th Edition classification

List of minerals for each chemical element

Other Databases

Other Regions, Features and Areas containing this locality

References

Orapa Mine, Orapa, Letlhakane, Central District, Botswana i
Regional Level Types
Orapa Mine Mine
Orapa Town
Letlhakane Village
Central District District
Botswana Country