The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), the U.S. Government’s development finance institution, has signed a $125 million loan guaranty which will help Botswana develop its diamond industry in a sustainable manner that will promote local job creation and diversified economic growth. Historically, diamonds mined in Botswana and elsewhere would be sorted, marketed and manufactured in other countries. Bringing these value-adding functions into Botswana has been a priority of the Botswana government, and the guaranty will help provide the financial underpinnings for this economic development strategy to succeed. The $125 million represents the first tranche of a broader $250 million OPIC…
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Botswana Metals, the minerals explorer said it has commenced exploration for pegmatite-hosted tantalum-lithium mineralisation on its tenements in eastern Botswana. The company added that ground exploration is focused on locating pegmatites as well as determining the source of the extremely strong historical tantalum stream sediment anomalies. “Work has commenced with geological mapping in areas of historically anomalous tantalum, particularly where anomalies are coincident with outcropping felsic lithologies,” Botswana Metals said. “Although much of these areas are covered by a thin veneer of soil, initial mapping has already identified pebbles and float of pegmatitic material”. Chairman of the company, Patrick Volpe…
Masa Square Hotel, Gaborone’s premiere luxury business hotel, has for the past year undergone a number of changes, both aesthetic and administrative. Under the management of AHA Hotels & Lodges, the hotel continues to deliver on its long-term strategy of redefining the local hospitality industry. Bringing this to life is the newly launched and much anticipated luxury Masa Executive Apartments. The 30 luxury long stay executive apartments are fully furnished with modern kitchen facilities and are ideal for the traveler looking for a more self-catered style stay in the heart of the city. Building upon its reputation for a number…
Debswana production declined in the second quarter of the year as a reflection of De Beers’ decision to reduce production in response to prevailing trading conditions in the second half of 2015. De Beers said its diamond production decreased by 19% to 6.4 million carats. At Debswana, the diamond mining company owned 50/50 by the diamond major and Botswana government, production decreased by 12% to 5.2 million carats with Orapa reduced by 27% and the placing of Damtshaa on care and maintenance from 1 January 2016. The company said production at DBCM (South Africa) decreased by 26% to 0.8 million…
Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) listed Lucara Diamond Corp. has put smiles on it shareholders’ faces with news that it will share proceeds of sparkle from Karowe diamonds by a way of a special dividend. The company, which is now known for uncovering exceptional stones like tennis-sized Lesedi La Rona diamond, said its board has approved the return of Canadian $172 million to shareholders by way of a special dividend of Canadian $0.45 per share to the holders of the company’s common shares. Lucara added that the special dividend will be paid in addition to the company’s existing progressive 2016 quarterly…
Tsodilo Resources Limited, the TSX-listed diamond and metals exploration said it has completed a share repurchase and royalty fee agreement with its Bosoto (Pty) Ltd minority shareholders. The minority shareholders’ 25% equity interest has been purchased for a 2% gross proceeds royalty derived from the sale of diamonds mined from Bosoto’s BK16 kimberlite project. The result of this transaction is that Tsodilo now has a 100% interest in Bosoto and its BK16 exploration project. The diamondiferous BK16 kimberlite pipe is located within the Orapa Kimberlite Field (OKF) in Botswana and contains rare and valuable Type IIa diamonds. In 2015, 11…
Botswana electricity generation declined in the first quarter of the year mainly on the back of problems with Morupule B power station, new data has shown. Statistics Botswana’s Electricity generation & distribution Stats brief for first quarter 2016 notes that imported power on the other hand rose in the same period. The statistics agency said during the first quarter of 2016, the index of electricity generation stood at 105.5, reflecting a year-on-year decrease of 14.5% when compared to 123.4 recorded in the corresponding quarter of 2015. It added that the quarter-on-quarter index of electricity generation decreased by 37.1% in the…
The Gauteng Tourism Authority, the official destination marketing agency for the Gauteng City Region will this week invade Botswana’s capital city of Gaborone as it promotes Gauteng lifestyle and entertainment events to the multitudes of Batswana who are always in attendance and supporting the South African events circuit. The activation, termed #GPLifestyle Botswana Invasion, is scheduled from Thursday 14 July to Saturday 16 July 2016 at Masa Square in Gaborone. “This tour and activation is meant to give our target market a teaser of the mouthwatering Gauteng lifestyle events, as well as to create market access opportunity for our township enterprises and…
Stanbic Bank Botswana parent, Standard Bank, has been recognised as Africa’s Best Bank for Markets and Africa’s Best Bank for Wealth Management at the 2016 Euromoney Awards for Excellence, in London. In addition, Euromoney also named Standard Bank as the Best Bank in Uganda, (Stanbic Uganda) and in Zambia, (Stanbic Zambia). Sim Tshabalala, Chief Executive, Standard Bank Group said: “We’re delighted by these awards. We think they reflect our commitment to serving our clients with excellence both through our physical network in Africa and by linking Africa to markets and investors in the rest of the world. Tshabalala said that…
The new De Beers Group CEO, Bruce Cleaver, has highlighted the importance of relationships with all the company’s partners, saying they are the “cornerstone of the business”. In a blog for the company’s website, Cleaver, who took up the role on 1 July, said: “De Beers holds a unique position with consumers, our rough diamond customers, governments, communities and retailers. And with each of these groups, we must recognise that it is not just what we do that matters, but also how we do it”. “We must never lose sight of the fact that for the entire diamond pipeline to…