The Toyota Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert Race this weekend is an event that brings an entire country to a virtual standstill, and can lay claim to being the biggest motorsport extravaganza in Southern Africa. This year the race celebrates its 25th anniversary under the Toyota banner and features round three of the Donaldson Cross Country Championship, as well rounds of the South African Cross Country Motorcycle and Quad Racing Championships and the Botswana National Off Road Championship. It is the first time since 2013 the SA Motorcycle and Quad Championship and Botswana series have competed on the same stage, and…
Author: Editor
There is no substitute for quality and the field assembled for this year’s Toyota Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert Race, round three of the Donaldson Cross Country Motor Racing Championship from June 24 to 26, is as good as it gets. A case can be made out for this year’s Production Vehicle entry to be the best yet. Included among the new FIA Class runners are three overseas teams with the international category complemented by the Class T and Class S cars – with the Class T brigade capable of upsets in a marathon event such as this one. It is…
Botswana government has notified the Competition Authority of its desire to acquire additional shares in Morupule Coal Mine Limited (MCM), in a bid to own the only operating coal mine in the country 100%. “The proposed transaction involves the unbundling of Debswana Diamond Mining (Pty) Ltd’s (“Debswana”) shareholding in MCM,” noted a merger notice on the authorities website Debswana is a partnership between GRB and De Beers Group and its primary objective is diamond mining and associated processes. “GRB’s (Botswana government) current indirect beneficial shareholding in MCM will be converted into a direct equity interest and GRB will acquire De…
Lucara Diamond Corp, the diamond industry’s current newsmaker said it has recovered a total of 274.33 carats from the processing of 5,916 tonnes of BK02 for a sample grade of 4.6 cpht (carats per hundred tonne). This is contained on the Botswana Stock Exchange’s listed company’s results from the mini bulk sample programme on the BK02 kimberlite located 30 kilometres east of the currently producing Karowe Mine. “The largest diamond recovered was a 5.48 carat brownish octahedron. In addition, a total of 24 stones were recovered greater than 1 carat in weight including 3 diamonds in excess of 2 carats,”…
Survival International (SI) has claimed that a host of big names are supporting its global campaign for Basarwa in the 50th anniversary year of Botswana’s independence. These include actors Dominic West, Gillian Anderson, Joanna Lumley, Sophie Okonedo and Mark Rylance, as well as musician and photographer Julian Lennon and illustrator Sir Quentin Blake. They join Survival’s campaign to secure the right of the Bushmen to return to their land in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, established fifty-five years ago to protect the Bushmen’s rights and ancestral home. In protest at the Botswana government’s ongoing mistreatment of the Basarwa, Survival is…
Kimberley Diamonds Ltd, the ASX listed diamond producer said it will auction diamonds from its Lerala mine in Botswana by the end of June. The company said the diamonds are currently being prepared for sale and will soon be shipped to Antwerp. “The first sale of diamonds recovered from KDL’s newly operating Lerala Diamond Mine in Botswana will be held by online auction from Antwerp, Belgium on 28 June 2016,” the company said in a market update. “Diamonds are currently being prepared for sale and will soon be shipped to Antwerp. The sale will be conducted by DDA Trading BVBA…
Stanbic Bank Botswana continues to pioneer innovative and secure cash management solutions for Botswana businesses. On the back of the recently launched Transregional Banking capabilities, the bank brings a first for the market product, Deposita cash management solution—which is now available to all Corporate and Business Banking customers. One of the main benefits of installing a Deposita with Stanbic Bank is that the bank offers same day electronic settlement of the deposited funds into our customers’ bank account. The Deposita cash accepting terminal counts, verifies, validates and secure banknotes on business premises. Moreover, the Deposita and POS devices are linked…
Tsodilo Resources Limited, the international diamond and metals exploration outfit has revealed that kimberlite BK16 contains rare and valuable Type IIa diamonds. The company has had possession of the diamonds that were previously recovered from BK16. The stones have been stored with I. Hennig & Co. at the Diamond Technology Park (DTP) in Gaborone since Tsodilo took possession. They were recently cleaned by Lucara Diamond at its facilities at the DTP and then analysed by a Tsodilo technical staff member supervised by Hennig personnel using a Yehuda ZVI colorimeter, with one stone in Parcel 1 (25 stones total) and…
BCL, the Botswana government-owned copper/nickel mining and smelting company has released the names of four miners who perished in a mine accident recently. The deceased who died at the company’s South East Extension are; Gaseitsewe Selelo, employed as SHE Inspector from Seleka village, Botsanang Maphane, employed as a Cage Tender from Kgagodi village, Godirilemang Seane, employed as a Miner in Charge from Seleka village and Mmonieneng Tlase, employed as a Winch Operator from Radisele village. The miner added that the other two employees who were referred to Nyangabgwe Referral Hospital in Francistown are in stable condition and out…
BCL, the Botswana based copper/ nickel miner has reported four fatalities and other critically injured miners following an accident at one of the company’s shaft. The troubled miner has of late being having safety concerns with Botswana Mine Workers Union (BMWU) critical of the current mine management’s safety record. The company said the incident occurred at one of its mines, South East Extension on Sunday, May 29th, 2016, at 21h05. “This incident involved ten (10) employees and regrettably four (4) of them passed on, while six (6) survived with two (2) of them very critical and have been referred…