The development of the underground mine at Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia has taken a significant step forward with the signing of the Oyu Tolgoi Underground Mine Development and Financing Plan (the Plan) by the Government of Mongolia, Turquoise Hill Resources and Rio Tinto. According to Rio Tinto, the plan addresses the key outstanding shareholder issues and sets out an agreed basis for the funding of the project. With a new pathway to development of the underground mine agreed, the focus now shifts to finalising the project finance, the feasibility study and securing all necessary permits so that the underground mine…
Author: Editor
Eskom said it welcomed the return of more than 5000 workers at the Medupi power station–a positive move that the utility company says paves way for the recovery of the past eight weeks of lost production time. The North Gauteng High Court recently ruled in favour of Eskom for the eviction of all persons residing in all three of Eskom’s accommodation areas around the Medupi power station, as well as interdicting the return of these employees back to the accommodation areas. Numsa, which had appealed the eviction order, was ordered to pay Eskom’s legal costs. “Eskom has also undertaken to…
De Beers Group says it has acquired a 33.4 percent equity stake in Synova SA (Synova)—a Swiss-based owner and supplier of a patent protected laser micro jet (LMJ) technology. According to the mining giants, the innovative technology has the potential to help diamantaires achieve higher yields, reduce the risk of damage to stress stones, and generate higher throughput due to faster cutting time and easier processing. It added that the deal supports De Beers’ strategy of developing technologies that support and enhance the long-term value of diamonds. De Beers will work with Synova to develop a fully automated cutting and…
Standard Chartered Bank Botswana through its subsidiary, Standard Chartered Bank Insurance Agency has partnered with Botswana Insurance Company Limited to distribute general insurance solutions to its rapidly growing client base. As part of the evolution of Bancassurance, Standard Chartered said it was committed to providing convenience and easy accessibility to financial solutions to its clients and as a result will be expanding its Bancassurance offering by adding General Insurance solutions. “Bancassurance in Standard Chartered has evolved to ensure that the distribution partnership with Botswana Insurance Company provides our esteemed clients a selection of general insurance offerings that touch on the…
fastjet, Africa’s low-cost airline, says it plans to increase its fleet this year as it seeks to expand its operations and add further routes to its network. With fastjet’s current fleet of three aircraft almost fully utilised, additional aircraft will be required to support the planned expansion of fastjet Tanzania and to facilitate the start-up of planned new fastjet operations in both Zambia and Zimbabwe. The airline has signed a letter of intent with ICBC International Leasing Company Limited in respect of the leasing of one A319-131 aircraft (the “Aircraft”). This Aircraft is the first of a number that fastjet is…
Applications are now being received by BIHL Trust for the highly sought after Thomas Tlou Scholarship programme. The platform, now in its 6th year, comes as part of the BIHL Trust’s unwavering dedication towards supporting the growth and education of Batswana. The closing date for submission of applications is June 30th 2015. BIHL Trust Administrator, Tebogo Keepetsoe highlighted when announcing the opening of applications that education remains a key area of focus for BIHL Trust, and the Thomas Tlou Scholarship Programme remains a cornerstone aspect of this. “Professor Tlou was a renowned historian and educationalist who left an incredible legacy…
Ato Ermias Eshetu has been named the Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Commodity Exchange (ECX). Ato Ermias has held a range of leadership positions locally and abroad. Since 2007, he has served as an Executive Management Member at Zemen Bank, most recently as Vice President for Marketing & Corporate Services. He received his Masters in International Business from Manchester School of Management and a Bachelor degree in Computation at UMIST, in the United Kingdom. Over the past 20 years, Ermias has worked at multi-national organization such as IBM, Alcatel, Orange and MicroStrategy. Ermias’s background in Software Engineering and as a…
The Botswana Insurance Holdings Limited (BIHL) Trust has launched a nationwide project aimed at increasing awareness around rhino conservation efforts. Batswana can expect to see life sized rhino sculptures pop up in key locations across the country, symbols of a much greater message from the Trust: the need for greater awareness around rhino conservation. The initiative comes on the back of the BIHL Trust’s recent donation of P100 000 to the Khama Rhino Sanctuary Trust (KRST) towards ear notching and DNA sampling of rhinos in the sanctuary. “Following our donation towards KRST, we wanted to do something that would contribute…
Mozambique liquefied natural gas (LNG) stands to transform the country and entrench it as a leading player in the global LNG industry. Developing these reserves and scaling up the currently planned LNG facility to its potentially multi-train capacity, will establish Mozambique as one of the largest exporters of LNG, a commodity of increasing global prominence. Standard Bank estimates that developing LNG in Palma will facilitate a real GDP increase of 800% by 2035 with the Government of Mozambique receiving in excess of USD 200 billion in receipts over the life of a 6-train facility. The opportunity scale, for developers, the…
The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report for 2015 has been released by the World Economic Forum (WEF) under the theme, “Growing through Shocks”. In the report, Botswana is ranked 88th out of 141 countries as compared to 94 out of 140 countries in 2013. According to Botswana National Productivity Centre (BNPC), this change shows an improvement by six places in the ranking. “However in terms of the quality score this year, the country scored 3.42 (out of 7) compared to 3.7 in the previous Report thus indicating a decline by 0.28,” BNPC said. “Caution should be exercised, however, when making…