• Sustainability

Environment

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, which we review every two years (last revised in March 2022) and Environmental Management and Closure Plans (updated in 2019 and again in 2020).

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

  • We commissioned a prefeasibility study in 2022 for a solar PV project including battery energy storage system (BESS), as well as a study to estimate our Scope 3 GHG emissions.
  • In 2022 we established Lucara Botswana’s Climate Change Working Group, which is responsible for all climate-risk assessments, strategy setting, management performance monitoring, and metrics and KPI setting.
  • Also in 2022 we completed a solar PV project for the community of Khwee Village.

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 2022 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 2022, Lucara Botswana partnered with the Department of Forestry at the National Tree Planting Event held in Letlhakane village. As a result, 5,701 seedlings were planted across the Boteti Region to combat desertification and to halt biodiversity loss. Lucara will leverage this partnership for future rehabilitation exercises within the mine lease area.