Anglo American, the parent company to De Beers said its diamond sales at the first sight of the year were strong on the back of a period when there is high demand in the industry. The global mining major said the value of rough diamond sales (Global Sightholder Sales and Auction Sales) for the first sales cycle of 2017 stood at $720 million. This was better than the actual sales figures of $422 million in Cycle 10 2016. The sales were $175 million higher on a year-on-year basis compared to $545 million recorded in Cycle 1 2016. De Beers chief executive officer,…
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Lucara Diamond Corp said it has appointed Moolman Mining Botswana (Pty) Ltd (Aveng Moolmans) as its new mining contractor at the 100% owned Karowe diamond mine in Botswana. Aveng Moolmans, a company forming part of Aveng Mining has been contracted for a 6 year period to provide the full suite of mining services at the Karowe mine, including all drill, blast, load and haul functions for both ore and waste. Aveng Moolmans will commence mobilisation of equipment to site during January and February 2017 and expects to begin mining activities in early March 2017. Lucara President and Chief Executive Officer,…
Rio Tinto said it has reached a binding agreement for the sale of its wholly-owned Australian subsidiary Coal & Allied Industries Limited to Yancoal Australia Limited for up to $2.45 billion comprising an initial $1.95 billion cash payment, payable at completion and $500 million in aggregate deferred cash payments, payable as annual instalments of $100 million over five years following completion. Prior to 24 February 2017, Yancoal Australia is entitled to elect an alternative purchase price structure of a single cash payment at completion of $2.35 billion. After the sale is completed, Rio Tinto will also be entitled to potential…
The Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea says it has submitted its interest to join the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 2017. H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, travelled to Vienna on January 20 to meet with OPEC officials and present the Government of Equatorial Guinea’s offer to become the 14th member of the cartel. With 32.5 million barrels per day of output projected this year, OPEC is the world’s largest organisation of oil producers. The Minister’s trip to Vienna follows the Fourth Africa-Arab Summit, which hosted last November several OPEC members in…
The hip downtown Roxy Hotel Cinema was the setting for The Diamond Empowerment Fund’s (D.E.F.) exclusive first U.S. showing of A UNITED KINGDOM. The movie chronicles the early years of Botswana’s rise from poverty to become what is now the second largest producer of diamonds in the world. The movie, starring David Oyelewo and Rosamund Pike, will be released to the general public on February 10. Honored guests included H.E. Mr. David John Newman, Ambassador of the Republic of Boswana to the Unied States, H.E. Charles T. Ntwaagae, Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Botswana and Dr. Edgar Sisa, Counsellor, Permanent…
The organiser of the Investing in African Mining Indaba conference has announced that the JSS Empowerment Mining Fund has signed on as a sponsor of the new Junior Miners Pavilion, including the much anticipated Investment Battlefield Competition. This newly launched $75 million fund, a partnership between boutique corporate finance firm Jaltech and JSE-listed Stefanutti Stocks, offers funding for junior opencast mining companies. “We believe that junior mines that are viable now will be very profitable when commodity price levels improve in the future,” explains Gaurav Nair, Executive Director of the JSS Empowerment Mining Fund. “Supporting junior mining companies will directly benefit investors…
De Beers said its Auction Sales business is to begin piloting fixed-price forward contracts. These contracts will offer the opportunity for Auction Sales customers to guarantee access to future supply with certainty over the price to be paid when the contract reaches maturity. The first event will take place on 16 February 2017, for the Grainers, Smalls and Near Gem categories of rough diamonds. The pilot has been developed in response to customer feedback on Auction Sales’ previous forward contract sales, which offered the guarantee of future supply but with a ‘floating’ price based on the spot price at the…
Shumba Energy Ltd has announced the signing of a binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the company’s subsidiary Shumba Coal Trading Ltd (SCT) and HMS Bergbau Africa (Pty) Ltd, a full subsidiary of German listed HMS Bergbau AG (HMS), a leading independent global trading house. The Botswana Stock Exchange listed company was established in 2011 to provide SADC region with coal and energy. Shumba is reaching its development objectives and now owns a significant portion of advanced energy projects in Botswana, including over 2 billion tonnes of coal for thermal energy. SCT was established in Mauritius specifically for the purposes…
Wilderness Safaris, Africa’s leading authentic and sustainable ecotourism company with over 37 camps in eight African countries has appointed Renuka Natu to manage its sales representation in the Indian market, effective 15 January 2017. “As Renuka has over 20 years’ experience in the travel and tourism industry and in-depth knowledge of the Indian market, we are thrilled to be partnering with her to promote our safari camp offering and to work closely with our trade partners in strategically growing our business in this exciting and dynamic market,” said Wilderness Safaris Chief Sales Officer, Dave Bennett. Renuka previously held numerous senior…
Tlou Energy Limited, an AIM and ASX listed company said it has received a Request for Proposal from the Government of Botswana for the development of up to 100MW of power using CBM. The company—which is focused on delivering power in Botswana and Southern Africa through the development of coal bed methane (CBM) at its Lesedi CBM project— said the move indicates the government’s commitment to facilitate the development of a unconventional gas industry in the country. The proposed government power purchase agreement (PPA) will assist in fast‐tracking the development of the gas industry in the country and creates a…