Mokwena Morulane
CHAIRPERSON: Minergy
‘I remain confident that there is a solid base in place from which the company can expand.’
MOKWENA Morulane is in the hot seat at Minergy until he finds a replacement for former CEO Morné du Plessis. Du Plessis left in November after a torrid year during which the company plunged into losses when the mining contractor stopped working because it was not being paid. In his 2022 review published in October that year, Du Plessis had given praises for the huge turnaround in Minergy’s fortunes because of the then soaring coal price which had taken off following the war in Ukraine. “None of this is possible but through the grace of our loving Father God who continues to bless Minergy,” he declared.
But the Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away (Job 1:21), and by March 2023, Du Plessis had to go on bended knee to a far more secular body for help – the Botswana government – after coal prices plunged a lot sooner than he anticipated. The Botswana government is keen to establish a diversified mining industry to reduce its dependence on diamonds and had bailed out Minergy before. This time around the Minerals Development Company Botswana stumped up 90 million in August and Minergy used the funds to pay the mining contractor Pula.
That mining contractor is now being replaced. Minergy’s Masama mine had been set up on the basis that it had a competitive edge over South African producers because of its proximity to major coal customers in the west of the country. The company sharply increased output and exported coal through Walvis Bay because of the booming overseas demand that drove up prices but got caught short when that market dried up far sooner than expected
LIFE OF MOKWENA
Morulane is an accountant with a BAcc (Hons) from the University of Bedfordshire plus he’s a graduate of the University of Oxford Executive Leadership Programme. He is the MD of Cresta Marakanelo – a hotel group listed on the Botswana Stock Exchange – but has had extensive experience with Botswana’s fledgling mining sector. He was the financial manager at Gem Diamonds Botswana for three years to 2020 and then spent five years with Discovery Metals becoming the country manager for the company. He was the GM corporate services at Botswana Oil from 2015 to 2017 and he joined the board of Minergy in 2017.
