We are committed to responsible development and continuous improvement. We apply the precautionary principle in all of our planning. Thorough environmental and social impact assessments have assisted us in developing robust management systems, policies, plans and procedures all aimed at minimizing adverse impacts and maximizing opportunities for sustainable investments.
Our commitments are set out in our Environmental Policy and Environmental Management and Closure Plans.
We promote environmental education and awareness in our operations and our local communities. We expect our employees, contractors and visitors will behave and conduct themselves in ways that protect the environment and actively seek to mitigate potential adverse impacts to the environment, through effective and efficient waste management, water use, energy use and biodiversity conservation practices.
From our Environmental Policy:
- Conduct all our activities in compliance with our Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA’s) and Environmental Management Plans (EMP’s), applicable legislation and other requirements to conserve and protect the environment, employees and the communities that are affected by our operations;
- Apply international best practices in the absence of legislation or more stringent local criteria, guided by Equator Principles and IFC guidelines, where Lucara believes these are needed to advance environmental protection and to minimize environmental risks;
- Integrate management of the environment into company business practices and planning;
- Protect the environment through the wise use of resources and prevention of adverse environmental impacts, including pollution prevention;
- Implement, maintain and improve appropriate management systems and programs to achieve effective and efficient waste management, water use, energy use, biodiversity conservation, and implementation of our closure plans and to continually improve environmental performance through a process of regular reviews;
- Assess climate-related risks and opportunities on a regular basis and consider opportunities to reduce the Company’s greenhouse gas emissions over the life of its depleting assets.
- Ensure that all operations are aware of this Corporate Policy and develop local policies and procedures that embody and support Lucara’s corporate objectives; and
- Communicate openly with governments, employees, local communities and the public to sustain mutual understanding of Lucara’s environmental commitments and performance.
UN GC Principles - Environment
Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;
Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and
Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies
Team
We have strengthened our Sustainability Department at Karowe, which manages and monitors our environmental performance, with the newly created Sustainability Coordinator (2019) position and an additional Environmental Officer (2020).
Energy & Climate Change
- The completion of the 132kV bulk power supply line enabled us to transition away from using diesel generators as our primary energy source for the UGP, which is now fully supplied with Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) grid power.
- In 2024, we are refreshing our climate risk assessment to review our climate-related physical and transition risks and plan to undertake a formal climate scenario analysis based on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) scenarios to better inform our future strategy and support KDM to improve its climate resiliency.
Water
Water is a precious resource and at Lucara Botswana we are continually exploring and improving our conservation programs. Our Responsible Mining Policy emphasises the need for conservation of natural resources. The Karowe Mine’s water balance was last updated in 2021 to help plan our future underground mining construction and operations. Our Emergency Response Plan covers water-related impacts, including spills and floods.
Water is recovered after processing from our tailings storage facility and returned to the process plant for continued use. As noted in our 2023 Sustainability Report, no freshwater is used in processing and we recorded zero reportable spills in the reporting year.
Excess water is provided to neighbouring companies. Studies are being undertaken to explore opportunities to provide excess water to local villages.
Biodiversity
While the Karowe Diamond Mine is located in an area that is considered to have little biodiversity, a Biodiversity Action Plan was developed to assist the company in managing potential impacts.
Progressive reclamation and maintenance of green space around the mine will assist us in the future during decommissioning.
In 2023, Lucara signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Birdlife Botswana to collaborate on monitoring and conserving biodiversity within KDM. This MoU includes key community engagements on biodiversity management and conservation planned for Letlhakane and surrounding villages (Mmatshumo, Mosu, Mokoboxane, Khwee, Mopipi) in the upcoming year.