The Ministers of Energy and Water from the Southern African Development Community (SADC), met on 24th May 2019 in Windhoek, Namibia, at the Safari Hotel and reviewed progress in the implementation of the Energy and Water programmes and projects and discussed the Energy and Water supply status to ensure food security and development in the SADC Region. The Ministerial Meeting was hosted by the Government of the Republic of Namibia, and was attended by SADC Ministers or their representatives from Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The meeting was also attended by representatives…
Author: Editor
De Beers said its sales fell during the fourth cycle of the year as the industry braces for a slower period. According to the diamond mining major, it sold only $415 million worth of rough diamonds at the sight in Gaborone. This is only provisional figure. “Cycle four saw lower rough diamond sales against a backdrop of macroeconomic uncertainty,” said Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers. “…and as we enter a seasonally slower period for the industry with Indian factories closing temporarily for the traditional holiday period,” he added. The fourth cycle figures were lower than $581 million reported in Cycle 3…
RapNet the world’s largest diamond trading network with daily listings of over $7.4 billion will be voting on whether it should provide diamond listing and pricing services for synthetic diamonds. Voting will be limited to registered RapNet members who login to RapNet.Com and will take place from Sunday May 26 through Friday May 31, 2019. The results of the vote will be announced at the Rapaport Breakfast on Sunday, June 2, 2019 at the JCK Jewelry show in Las Vegas, Nevada. The keynote address at the breakfast entitled “Synthetic Ethics” will be presented by Martin Rapaport. The Rapaport Breakfast is…
Minergy Limited says its Chief Executive Officer, Andre Boje has decided to retire with effect from 31 July 2019 and step back from executive and operational responsibilities at the junior miner. In a filing the company revealed that Boje he will retain his position and responsibility as an Executive Director on the Board of Directors until 31 July 2019. “Andre remains committed to bringing the Masama Coal Project to full production in the next few months and this notice period allows sufficient time to ensure a smooth handover,” said the developer of Masama coal mine. “As from 1 August 2019,…
Tlou Energy has been named as the preferred bidder for the development of a 100 MW coal bed methane fired power plants in Botswana. Recently, Energy ministry was given the go ahead by the country’s Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board to open discussions with two bidders for the project. The company said it will now work with the government to finalise all the project agreements. “Tlou Energy Limited can confirm that the company has now received written confirmation from the government of Botswana that it has been chosen as a preferred bidder for the development of a maximum of…
The Botswana unconventional gas sector seems to be taking shape after the government’s tender body, the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Board (PPADB), took a decision to okay the government’s request to engage bidders for the 100MW project. The move will embolden junior miners like Tlou Energy who are looking to be at the forefront of Coal Bed Methane revolution in Botswana. PPADB has through a public notice published in the Botswana Daily Newspaper dated 14 May 2019 moved to engage Tlou Energy and another bidder. The PPADB has through the notice revealed that it has approved the Ministry of…
Electric vehicles, or EVs, are on track to dominate global sales of passenger cars and buses by 2040, and to encroach significantly on the market for vans and short-distance trucking, according to the latest forecast from research firm BloombergNEF (BNEF). Based on analysis of the evolving economics in different vehicle segments and geographical markets, BNEF’s Electric Vehicle Outlook 2019 shows electrics taking up 57% of the global passenger car sales by 2040, slightly higher than it forecast a year ago. Electric buses are set to hold 81% of municipal bus sales by the same date. For the first time, BNEF has incorporated…
Debmarine Namibia, a 50/50 joint venture between the Government of the Republic of Namibia and De Beers Group, has announced that its Board of Directors have approved the construction of the world’s first ever custom-built diamond recovery vessel. The new vessel is expected to cost US$468 million (N$7 billion) and represents the largest ever single investment in the marine diamond industry. The ship will become the seventh vessel in the Debmarine Namibia fleet and is scheduled to commence operations in 2022. On completion, the vessel is expected to add 500,000 carats annually to Debmarine Namibia’s production, an increase of approximately…
World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is establishing a global taskforce to help the travel industry prevent and combat human trafficking – including of children for sexual purposes. Tourism is both particularly vulnerable and well placed to address the issue, since human trafficking – which affects 30 million victims worldwide – relies on travel networks to operate. Human trafficking is worth $150bn annually, and contributes heavily to modern slavery, in which 40 million people worldwide are entrapped. One-quarter of trafficking victims worldwide are children. Meanwhile, 19% of victims are trafficked for sexual purposes, which makes up 66% of the illicit…
Metal Tiger plc has provided an update on planned exploration work for the licence areas held in joint venture (“JV”) with MOD Resources Limited (MOD) (30% Metal Tiger: 70% MOD) and for the 100% MOD held T3 Copper Project (“T3”), in the Kalahari Copper Belt, Botswana. The planned work programmes are part of a proposed wider growth strategy to add substantial value by systematically building mineral resources in potential T3 satellite deposits, with the aim of building a pipeline of satellite mines to leverage planned T3 infrastructure and provide increased and supplementary production throughput to the planned T3 Processing Plant.…