fastjet’s inaugural flight between Dar es Salaam in Tanzania and Harare in Zimbabwe took off on 5th August, marking the launch of the low-cost airline’s third international route across Africa, and the only direct air link between the two African capital cities. Previously, those wishing to travel between Dar es Salaam and Harare had to spend at least two days travelling the approximately 2200km by road, or they had to fly via Nairobi in Kenya or Johannesburg in South Africa involving lengthy layovers. The new route offered by fastjet provides a solution to this problem, with twice-weekly flights now flying…
Author: Editor
Africa offers US multinationals a compelling trade and investment opportunity thanks to the rapid economic growth rates being experienced across the continent along with burgeoning population growth and increasing urbanisation, according to Standard Bank. Economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa has exceeded 5% a year for more than a decade now giving the continent a 4.1% share of global gross domestic product (GDP), up from 3.4% in 2000. By 2050 one in four of the world’s population will reside in Africa with at least 60% of the continent’s people living in urban centres. “Trade with African economies and investment…
The Index of Mining Production in the first quarter of 2014 stood at 96.2 showing a year-on-year growth of 16.7 percent with the main contributors to this growth being diamonds contributing 21.0 percentage points while Gold and Copper contributed 0.3 and 0.2 percentage points respectively. Statistics Botswana said in its latest release that minerals which registered negative contributions to the growth of mining production were Copper-nickel-cobalt matte with a decline of 4.3 percentage points, Soda ash, Salt and Silver, each contributing a decline of 0.2 of a percentage point. “Year-on-Year percentage in the volume of mining production by mineral group…
Anglo American, the global diversified group says its performance in the latest financial results underlines the merits of the business strategy of commodity and geographic diversification. The company has published the results which showed underlying earnings for the first half of 2014 were $1.3 billion, 3% higher than for the same period in 2013, with an underlying operating profit of $2.9 billion, a 10% decrease from $3.3 billion. The group blamed the generally lower realised prices of commodities which resulted in a reduction of $1.0 billion in underlying operating profit. The lower prices included a 23% decrease in achieved Australian…
Pangolin Diamonds Corp. said it has recovered a macro-diamond from a soil sample on its recently acquired Malatswae project prospecting licence PL247/2014. The project is located in north-central Botswana and is 100%-owned by Pangolin. The company revealed a regional soil sample, numbered MSC119, weighing approximately 40kg was collected and then processed at Pangolin’s DMS plant in Francistown, Botswana. “A concentrate was then independently examined in Gaborone by a specialist consultant who subsequently submitted the stone to C.F. Mineral Research Limited in Kelowna, Canada who confirmed the diamond,” Pangolin revealed. The white diamond weighs 0.005484 carats and was retained on a…
MOD Resources Limited has provided an update on the 100% owned Mahumo Project in Botswana. Details of the two >500m long high grade deposits (‘West Zone’ and ‘East Zone’) which are the focus of current work at Mahumo were announced on 16 June 2014. Previous drilling by MOD on 100m traverses along a 2.5km strike length at Mahumo confirmed the copper/silver mineralisation continues from near surface to approximately 200m down dip and remains open below that depth. A preliminary conceptual study is now underway to evaluate potential for developing the West and East Zones initially by shallow open pit mining.…
Barclays Bank of Botswana has launched a partnership with Kalahari Conservation Society (KCS) to foster youth development and promote wildlife conservation. The initiative will address youth unemployment associated with social ills and also teach environmental sustainability to young people. The project will focus around the rhino conservation which according to Reinette van der Merwe, Barclays MD ‘will cease to exist at the current state’. The MD explained that the partnership mobilises the young people and train them to be able to secure work or start their own enterprises as well as protect their natural resources from which they can derive…
Siemens has partnered as a platinum sponsor with the 16th annual East African Power Industry Convention or EAPIC that is taking place from 3-4 September in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference and expo will gather more than 1000 attendees along with exhibitors showcasing the latest technologies, products and services across the entire energy value chain from generation, transmission, distribution and services. “The East African energy market has one of the most diversified energy resource mixes to support a cohesive and sustainable power supply programme ranging from the conventional hydro, coal, and geothermal, to natural gas, oil, wind, solar and biomass feed…
BotswanaPost has launched the Domestic Animals in Botswana Commemorative Stamp Issue at a Press Conference held at Poso House. The stamp will be released to the market on August 1st 2014. Speaking at the Press Conference on Monday, BotswanaPost Chief Executive Pele Moleta said as the Post continues in its journey to transform, the organisation has not ignored it’s core products such as stamps. He added that such core products are critical in the Post achieving its goal of being a P500 million Pula company with a cost to income ratio of 60% by 2016. In the past three months BotswanaPost launched two stamp…
Orapa mine, the world largest diamond mining town has over the years been seen as a closed society of diamond monied chaps who work hard, get heavy pay cheques and spend the cash by themselves. However, in a bid to dispel that notion, the mine is mulling a number of projects that will make the area inclusive to surrounding communities and make it possible for motorists passing through the lease area to stop for a minute and feel being part of the mining story. Orapa is currently a closed town with 12 000 people; mainly OLDMs (Orapa, Letlhakane and Damtshaa…