Aviva announced on Friday that the environmental impact statement for Mmamantswe had been issued by the Botswana Department of Environmental Affairs.

Mmamantswe has a 1.3 billion tonne coal resource, which Aviva says can support a 1000 megawatt or 2000MW power station.

"The granting of the EIS is a further important milestone for the Mmamantswe project,” Aviva chief executive officer Lindsay Reed said in a statement.

“Aviva has continuing third-party interest in the Mmamantswe power station.

“In 2012 there have been many positive developments for the coal industry in Botswana

and Aviva is actively positioning the Mmamantswe project to be part of a scale-up of resources in Botswana.”

According to Aviva, the outcome of the recent coal road map review prepared by Wood McKenzie for the Botswanan government is another positive for the project and the country’s coal industry.

Mmamantswe is 70km northeast of Gaborone and close to proposed power transmission infrastructure.

Importantly, it also has an 8 gigalitre per annum water resource.