In mining development, accurate and reliable geological and mineral data is critical in highlighting known mineralisation and reducing initial exploration costs.

In an effort to encourage new investment in the country’s resources, the Botswana Geoscience Institute (BGI) has set up an online portal that provides free access to multidisciplinary datasets from Ngamiland, in the country’s North-West district.

According to Canadian software-development company Geosoft, the portal – which builds on the success of online geoscience initiatives in North America, Europe and Australia – will also help the Southern African nation ‘improve transparency and stimulate collaboration between government, industry and the public to advance understanding of the economic and social needs’ specific to Ngamiland.

The datasets ‘can assist us in furthering our understanding of other issues, such as the causes of earthquakes in the region, evolution and geodynamics of the delta system, and contribution in the development of seismic hazard maps and zonation’, says BGI chief geophysicist Motsamai Tarzan Kwadiba.

16 February 2016
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