Selebi-Phikwe
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Place details
- Region
- Central District
- Country
- Botswana
- Population
- 42,488
- Timezone
- Africa/Gaborone
via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames
Key facts
Article
7 sectionsContents
- Mining
- Government and infrastructure
- Energy
- Amenities and tourism
- Notable people
- References
- External links
Selebi-Phikwe (also spelt Selibe Phikwe) is a mining town located in the Central District of Botswana. It had a population of 42,488 in 2022. The town is an administrative district, separate from the surrounding Central District.
== Mining == Nickel mining commenced in 1973 and has been the main activity since. The complex includes a mine and a smelter. All operations are now deep mining. Originally there were two tiny places called Selebi and Phikwe, which straddled a large undiscovered deposit of copper and nickel in the area. When the mineral wealth of the area was discovered in the 1960s a mine and a township were built in the woodland between the places with the combined name of Selebi-Phikwe.