GABORONE — Botswana’s government will put its biggest copper and nickel producer, BCL Mine Limited, under provisional liquidation due to non-profitability, the country’s Mineral Resources Minister Sadique Kebonang said on Saturday. Kebonang said the government could not afford the cost of about 7.6bn pula ($710m) needed to keep the state-owned firm running. "A decline in the quality of copper over the years, which was made worse by the recent slump in commodity prices, has made the burden of keeping the mine operational unbearable," he said. "Pumping such kind of money into the mine would mean we suspend other government commitments such as providing antiretroviral drugs and educational funding," Kebonang said. The government has applied to the high court to place the mine under provisional liquidation and will continue to pay the salaries of 5,000 workers, none of whom have lost their jobs yet. "The liquidator is the one who will make a decision to either shut it down or restructur...
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