Botswana has frozen the issue of any new prospecting licences for coal, coal bed methane and related minerals pending the finalisation of a new strategy for the coal sector, a government official said on Tuesday.

Boikobo Paya, permanent secretary in the minerals ministry, said the moratorium would last until the road map was finalised, which was expected within six months.

"The moratorium will assist us to develop a proper road map that we can share with the industry," he told a conference.

"We want to look at the current and future coal markets in order to maximise economic benefits from the mineral."

The Coal Roadmap, put together by consultancy Wood Mackenzie, is a strategy on how to optimise benefits from the country's estimated 212 billion tonnes of coal reserves.

Exploration rights for coal and coal-bed methane are among the most popular licences sought in mineral-rich Botswana.

Demand peaked in 2009 when 50 percent of all prospecting licences were for exploring for coal, CBM and related minerals.

The government believes that Botswana's coal and gas reserves have the potential to grow into an industry as big as its bedrock diamond sector, which generates half of Botswana's revenue and a third of gross domestic product (GDP).