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Botswana discovers 2nd largest diamond in the world

Published

4 weeks ago

August 24, 2024

A Canadian mining company has announced that it has found a massive 2,492-carat diamond in Botswana, the second-largest diamond in the world.

The diamond was found using X-ray detection technology in the Karowe diamond mine in northeastern Botswana, according to a statement from Lucara Diamond.

The company did not estimate the find’s value, but it is second only in carats to the 3,106-carat Cullinan Diamond discovered in South Africa in 1905.

“We are ecstatic about the recovery of this extraordinary 2,492-carat diamond,” Lucara president William Lamb said in the statement.

This find was “one of the largest rough diamonds ever unearthed” and detected using the company’s Mega Diamond Recovery X-ray technology installed in 2017 to identify and preserve large, high-value diamonds, the statement said.

The translucent stone, the size of a palm, was delivered to President Mokgweetsi Masisi at his office later on Thursday by Naseem Lahri, the managing director of Lucara Botswana.

“I’m told this is the largest diamond to be discovered in Botswana to date and the second in the world,” Masisi said, congratulating the company on the find. “This is precious.”

According to data from the International Monetary Fund, Botswana is one of the biggest producers of diamonds in the world, which are its primary source of income and account for 30% of its GDP and 80% of its exports.

Approximately 2.5 million people live in this arid and poorly populated nation, which was impoverished in 1966 when it gained independence from Britain.

A year after diamonds were found, the IMF claims that the nation is currently the world’s top producer of diamonds by value.

Lucara asserts that a royalty equal to 10% of the total sales value of diamonds produced in Karowe will be paid to the government, regardless of whether the diamond is sold polished or raw.

“With a diamond of this magnitude, I can see roads being built,” said Masisi, as he posed for pictures with the huge stone.

“This discovery is largely thanks to newer technology that allows larger diamonds to be extracted from the ground without breaking into pieces. So we will likely see more where this came from,” he said.

The largest diamond found in Botswana before its announcement on Thursday was a 1,758-carat stone called Sewelo that Lucara had mined at the Karowe mine in 2019.

Using the same X-ray equipment, Lucara discovered a 1,174-carat diamond in Botswana in 2021. Since the mine’s 2012 start of operations, 216 diamonds have been sold for more than $1 million apiece, and more than 11 single stones have been sold for more than $10 million each.

The mining sector in Botswana is still one of the most important in the world, particularly for diamonds, of which the country is the world’s top producer in terms of value. This industry’s performance is dependent on worldwide demand, which is why the COVID-19 epidemic severely hurt it.

Long-term trends have indicated a drop in mineral revenues, primarily because of higher expenses, particularly in the diamond business. This is despite the fact that this sector accounts for around one third of total sales and roughly 80% of foreign exchange earnings.

Related Topics:Botswana Diamond Featured

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Nigeria’s central bank issues fresh guidelines for ‘Ways and Means’ to govt

Published

10 hours ago

September 18, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has issued new guidelines on Ways and Means which limit Ways and Means Advances to the federal government to 5% of the previous year’s revenue collection.

The apex bank made the position known in its fiscal year 2024-2025 monetary, credit, international trade, and exchange policy guidelines.

“Ways and Means Advances shall continue to be available to the Federal Government to finance deficits in its budgetary operations to a maximum of 5.0 per cent of the previous year’s actual collected revenue. Such advances shall be liquidated as soon as possible and shall in any event be repayable at the end of the year in which it was granted,” it said.

The Treasury Single Consideration (TSA) system requires these advances to take into consideration Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) sub-accounts, which are linked to the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

The federal government’s consolidated cash situation will be more precisely reported, improving public financial management openness and resource availability. The CBN also stated that Ways and Means Advances must be repaid by the end of the fiscal year they were awarded, encouraging short-term borrowing.

In the Nigerian context, “ways and means” refers to the Federal Government’s ability to borrow money from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This means that the government may use “ways and means” to meet short-term needs or emergencies, which is why the CBN is referred to as the “lender of last resort.”

Over the past seven years, the facility had grown 2,900% to an extraordinary N23.7 trillion by 2023. This fast surge, which exceeded legal restrictions, increased inflation and Nigeria’s debt.

The CBN Act allows the bank to grant temporary advances to the federal government for budget revenue deficits at a rate deemed appropriate, but the total amount of such advances “shall not at any time exceed 5% of the previous year’s actual revenue of the Federal Government.”

In addition, it stipulates that “All advances shall be repaid as soon as possible and shall, in any event, be repayable by the end of the Federal Government financial year in which they are granted and if such advances remain unpaid at the end of the year, the power of the bank to grant such further advances in any subsequent year shall not be exercisable, unless the outstanding advances have been repaid.”

The Senate and House recently enacted a bill to increase the CBN’s federal Ways and Means borrowing ceiling. The upper chamber of Nigeria’s legislature boosted the central bank’s loan capacity to the federal government from 5% to 10% of annual income.

Yemi Cardoso, CBN governor, announced earlier this year that the bank would stop making Ways and Means advances to the federal government until existing loans were returned. He said this is one of the bank’s key strategies to handle the country’s economic issues.

VenturesNow

Kenya, IMF discuss economic and fiscal issues

Published

16 hours ago

September 18, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday that it had had productive discussions with Kenya’s government on its economic and fiscal goals after widespread protests prompted it to shelve tax rises.

In June, President William Ruto abandoned this year’s finance bill, leaving the deeply indebted government with a larger budget deficit, unpaid payments, and a delay in IMF funding.

“We remain fully committed to supporting the authorities in their efforts to identify a set of policies that could support the completion of the reviews under the ongoing program as soon as feasible,” the IMF said in a statement.

Kenya signed a four-year IMF loan in 2021 and another for climate change measures in May 2023, totalling $3.6 billion. The country secured a staff-level agreement with the IMF on its seventh review in June, but the protest and finance bill withdrawal delayed the executive board’s sign-off and payout.

Public debt helps development. Governments utilise it to fund spending, protect and invest in their citizens, and improve their futures. However, too quick governmental debt growth can be a burden. The developing world which Africa forms core is experiencing this.

Kenya’s government debt was 70.10% of GDP in 2023. Kenya’s government debt to GDP averaged 56.36% from 1998 to 2023, peaking at 78.30% in 2000 and falling to 38.20% in 2012.