Otjikoto Gold Mine, B2Gold Corp, Namibia Environment and Sustainability:

Sediment-hosted ore deposits tour blog Part 3b
Otjikoto Gold Mine, B2Gold Corp, Namibia
Environment and Sustainability:

Would you believe me if I told you the photos I am providing with this post were in proximity to an active gold mining operation?

Modern mines such as Otjikoto (first gold poured in 2014) must now function in a sustainable, environmentally-friendly fashion. As part of its plan, B2Gold established the 18,000 hectare Otjikoto Environmental education centre and Nature reserve, with a vision to link B2Gold land and the Waterberg Plateau Park into an integrated conservation and wildlife management landscape that optimises biodiversity protection. This was done working with the Namibian Chamber of the environment. What this means is that when the mine closes in 15 – 20 years, the land will be ready to integrate into a pre-existing National Park.
The education centre allows children to visit and learn about indigenous flora and fauna, survival training, as well as teaching math, science and chemistry. All of which are free of charge. Our group was fortunate to camp in the nature reserve for two nights during our visit to the the mining operation. It was truly amazing to see creatures in the wild and to see that we in the natural resources sector can really do to co-exist as peacefully and respectfully as possible with nature. Namibia is a truly beautiful and unique part of the world. We in this industry often get painted with a bad brush, but we must speak about the good things that we are doing in order to bring everybody onto the same page.

This is the innovation and sustainable thinking that I am hoping to learn about through the Hugh Morris Fellowship with the Kimberley foundation and I know that I will take this memory in particular with me, wherever I go.
#KFFellows