BIG DEVELOPMENTS IN LESOTH(DAMS AND MINES)

BIG DEVELOPMENTS IN LESOTHO,OUR MAIN FOCUS IS ON DAMS AND MINES ONLY.

1. BIG DEVELOPMENTS IN LESOTHO BY Mpolokeng Heshepe

2. INDRODUCTION Lesotho is a small, mountainous, landlocked country surrounded by its much larger neighbor, South Africa. It has a population of about two million and a per capita gross domestic product(GDP) of $999.7 in 2022. Lesotho is classified as a lower middle-income country. It is primarily highlands, with its lowest point 1,400meters above sea level. There are many developments in Lesotho but our main focus is on Dams and Mine.

3. KATSE DAM ‘MUELA DAM MOHALE DAM POLIHALI DAM METOLONG DAM DAMS

4. The first part of the LHWP was Katse dam. Construction started on the Katse dam in 1991 on the Maliba-mats’o River, a tributary of the orange (Senqu) River. The dam was completed in 1997 and is 710 meter long and 185 meters high .The deep lake formed by the dam can hold 2 billion cubic meters of water, but the winding and narrow reservoir has a surface area of only 35.8 square kilometers. This small surface area minimizes evaporation . Video from Tik Tok KATSE DAM WATCH VIDEO

5. ‘ Muela dam is a double curvature arch dam, build on sand stone, the dam has ogee spillway and cascade stilling basin for energy dissipation. There is an inlet to the 38 km tunnel in dam basin, through which water is delivered to S outh Africa . ‘MUELA DAM

6. Unlike K atse dam, the Mohale dam does not generate power. Instead, it was built as a backup reserve to the Katse dam and reservoir. The dam was built on the Senqunyane River, another tributary of the Senqu/Orange River. The Mohale dam is 145 meters high and 620 meters long. It is the highest concrete-faced rock-filled dam in Africa. A large basalt hill inside the basin had to be crushed to build the rock wall. The dam then formed the 21.2 square kilometer Mohale reservoir. A 32 kilometer tunnel brings water from the Mohale reservoir to the Katse reservoir . MOHALE DAM

7. POLIHALI DAM MAP CONSTRUCTION OF POLIHALI DAM AND POLIHALI TUNNEL.

8. POLIHALI DAM The Polihali dam , a concrete faced rockfill dam, similar to the Mohale dam, which was constructed in phase I of the LHWP, will create a reservoir on the Senqu and Khubelu rivers with a surface area of 5053 ha. The infrastructure also includes a spillway, a compensation outlet structure and a mini-hydropower station

9. METOLONG DAM The construction of the 83-meter high Metolong dam was sterted in 2013 and the dam now provides treated bulk water to communities in five areas including the capital of Maseru and surrounding towns of Teyateyaneng , Morija , Mazenod and Roma. “ The completion of the Metolong dam and water supply program marks a major milestone in the economic and social development of Lesotho because over 500,000 people are reaping benefit from this program,” said King Letsie lll .

10. LIQHOBONG DIAMOND MINE LETS’ENG DIAMOND MINE KAO DIAMOND MINE MOTHAE DIAMOND MINE MINES

11. LIQHOBONG DIAMOND MINE Liqhobong diamond mine, located within the Liqhobong valley in Maloti mountains, approximately 120km east-northeast (ENE) of Maseru, is owned by Liqhobong mining development company (LMDC), a company owned by firestone Diamonds (75%) and kingdom of Lesotho (25%).

12. LETS’ENG DIAMOND MINE Lets’eng diamond ( pty ) holds the mining lease granted in 1999 by the government of Lesotho Lets’eng has two share holders; Gem diamonds limited. Which owns 70% and the Government of Lesotho, which owns the remaining 30%. Opened by De Beers from 1977-1982, Lets’eng reopened in 2004 and was acquired by Gem Diamonds in late 2006 for US dollar 11.5 million.

13. KAO DIAMOND MINE Storm mountain Diamonds ( pty ) Ltd (SMD) operates Kao mine in the District of Botha Bothe . This is the fourth largest kimberlite pipe in Southern African- and the largest kimberlite pipe in Lesotho – from a coverage perspective at 19.8 hectares, with an indicated and inferred resource base of 12.7 million carats. Kao pipe has been explored and confirmed to a depth of 500m. The mine has approximately 18 years of operation left.

14. MOTHAE DIAMOND MINE Mothae diamond mine is a high-value kimberlite diamond mine located in the highlands of Lesotho. It is owned by it’s operator Lucapa Diamond Company (70%) and the government of the kingdom of Lesotho (30%) The Mothae Kimberlite diamond project is being developed in two phases. The first phase started commercial production in December 2018 , after the commission of 1.1 million tonnes per annum ( Mtpa ) Kimberlite treatment plant at the mine site in October 2018. Then second phase is expected to be operational by 2021, with the commissioning of another 1.1Mtpa treatment plant.

15. CONCLUSION Lesotho as a lower middle-income country it has diamonds mines and dams that have had significant impact on the country’s economy, infrastructure, and natural environment. Dams such as Mohale dam and Katse dam, has provided valuable water resources for irrigation, hydroelectric power generation, and urban water supply, also mining industry in Lesotho, played a crucial role in attracting foreign investment and creating jobs opportunities.

16. https://eros.usgs.gov/earthshorts/katse https://www.nsenergybusiness.com/projects/mothae-diamond-mine/https://eros.usgs.gov/earthshots/katse-dam https://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/lhda-marks-milestone-in-polihali-dam-construction-2023-08-08 https://whttps://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2015/12/18/water-for-lesothos-lowlands-unveiling-the-metolong-damww.mining-technology.com/projects/liqhobong-diamond-mine/ https:// www.letsengdiamonds.co.ls/ https :// www.google.com/search?q=mohale+dam+history&sca https :// wis.orasecom.org/content/study/UNDP-GEF/InfrastructureCatalogue/Documents/Reservoirs/Muela%20Dam.pdf https :// www.signalhire.com/companies/storm-mountain-diamonds-kao REFEReNCE list