Botswana continues to import substantial amount of electricity even when billions of Pula have been spent on projects to self-generate. The latest data by Statistics Botswana shows that the country, which is celebrating its 50th independence anniversary this year, has not been so independent in power generation. The electricity generation and distribution Stats Briefs for the second quarter of 2016 by the government’s statistics body revealed that although on quarter-on-quarter the generation rose, it declined on a yearly basis. The stats body noted that during the second quarter of 2016, the index of electricity generation stood at 115.7, reflecting a…
Author: Editor
The International Institute of Diamond Grading & Research (IIDGR), part of The De Beers Group of Companies, will showcase its much sought-after PhosView screening instrument in the UK for the first time at the UK Jewellery Conference at the East Midlands Conference Centre on 3 and 4 October 2016. The UK demonstration of PhosView follows the launch of the instrument at the Hong Kong Gem & Jewellery Fair on 14 to 18 September 2016, with demand for the technology having been particularly strong in the first two weeks it has been available to purchase. The new instrument, PhosView, is a…
ASX listed MOD Resources Ltd said it has completed a substantial maiden copper/silver resource at T3 within six months of discovery. T3 forms part of a joint venture between MOD Resources Ltd (70%) and AIM-listed Metal Tiger Plc (30%) in the Kalahari Copper Belt, Botswana. According to the exploration company, the combined Indicated and Inferred resource estimates using 0.5% Cu cut-off consist of 28.36Mt @ 1.24% Cu and 15.7g/t Ag, containing approximately 350,200t Cu (~772Mlbs copper) and 14.27 million oz Ag. This includes a high-grade resource using 1.5% Cu cut-off grade which consists of 8.48Mt @ 2.16% Cu and 30.6g/t…
African nations have nominated a Zimbabwean, Dr Walter Mzembi, as their candidate to become the new head of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UN – WTO). Should Mzembi get this post, it will be the first time in the organisation’s 43-year history that an African would head the organisation. Speaking during the UN General Assembly in New York, Africa’s longest-serving tourism minister said that he was humbled and privileged to have been chosen by the Government of Zimbabwe, the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the African Union (AU) as the continent’s candidate. “Since the establishment of the UN -WTO in 1974, no African…
The De Beers Group of Companies was a participant in the second US – Africa Business Forum, hosted by the US Department of Commerce and Bloomberg Philanthropies at the Plaza Hotel in New York. Bruce Cleaver, CEO, De Beers Group, joined world leaders, including US President Barack Obama, US Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker, US Secretary of State John Kerry, Michael R. Bloomberg, various African heads of state, and other private sector CEOs from the US and Africa, to examine the partnerships that have led to deepened business relationships and the exciting potential for growth in Africa. The Obama Administration…
Standard Bank of South Africa (SBSA), the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s development finance institution, and Wells Fargo Bank announced a $300 million facility to fund power and infrastructure projects in Africa. The 12-year funding line for Standard Bank, the largest African banking group by assets, was signed on the side lines of the US-Africa Business Forum in New York City. SBSA will provide $33 million from its balance sheet to support transactions financed by the facility. At least $150 million of the facility will support power transactions as part of President Obama’s Power Africa initiative, with…
Analysis of International air travel to East Africa this year (January to August) by ForwardKeys, a company that predicts future travel patterns by crunching and analysing 14m booking transactions a day, reveals strong growth of 11.2% compared with the same period last year. This is an exceptional performance as growth for Africa as whole has been 5.6%, with countries like Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia seeing little growth or even a decline. Olivier Jager, CEO, ForwardKeys, said: “We are seeing a tale of two Africas, with North African countries suffering from political instability and terror activities and Sub Saharan African…
Gahcho Kué, the world’s largest new diamond mine in the last 13 years, has officially opened. The mine, a joint venture with The De Beers Group of Companies (51 per cent) and Mountain Province Diamonds (49 per cent), is expected to produce approximately 54 million carats of rough diamonds from 35 million tonnes of ore over its lifetime. A fly-in/fly-out remote mine site situated approximately 280km northeast of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories (NWT) of Canada, Gahcho Kué remains on track to reach full commercial operation in the first quarter of 2017. Comprised of three open pits, the mine will…
TSX listed Galane Gold Ltd. said it has closed its previously announced mandatory offer for the acquisition of the outstanding ordinary shares of Galaxy Gold Mining Limited held by its minority shareholders. The company now owns approximately 98.6% of the outstanding Galaxy Shares as a result of the completion of the mandatory offer. Pursuant to the terms of the Mandatory Offer, Galane Gold has agreed to pay an aggregate purchase price of approximately Cdn$235,000 to holders of Galaxy Shares who elected to receive cash consideration and to issue 2,340,094 common shares and 520,016 common share purchase warrants, with each warrant…
Botswana recently participated at the 2016 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Congress held in the City of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States of America. The congress was held from 1- 10 September 2016 under the theme “PLANET AT CROSS ROADS”, which reflected on the numerous challenges facing the conservation and preservation of planet earth. U.S President Barrack Obama marked the opening of the Congress by the announcement to expand the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, now the largest protected area in the world. Events at the congress included High Level Dialogues, Conservation Cases Workshops, round table discussions, presentation of visual…