Earlier quoted context omitted.
The Botswana Government will get a 10% royalty.
How generous.
Its about what corporate taxes are many places. Why would it be different there?
Biggest Diamond in More Than a Century Unearthed in Botswana
31–40 of 45 posts
Re: Biggest Diamond in More Than a Century Unearthed in Botswana
#32Re: Biggest Diamond in More Than a Century Unearthed in Botswana
#33Earlier quoted context omitted.
How generous.
Its about what corporate taxes are many places. Why would it be different there?
Because it is value extracted, not value added, and because the receivers of the majority of that value are in a position to extract that value by virtue of having historically exploited Botswana. So the larger part of the value will be removed from the country rather than that it will become part of the local economy it will become part of our economy.
Re: Biggest Diamond in More Than a Century Unearthed in Botswana
#34Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Current prices for industrial diamonds are more like $100-400 pr. kilogram IIRC the price was closer to 20 times that for diamond dust, did something change very recently?
No idea. I just googled a bit and pulled some numbers from a few different bulk suppliers I found (all in China). Perhaps competition from china has had a dramatic effect on prices?
Or they're bullshit suppliers advertising ridiculous prices and wares, like the company advertising kilograms of stuff only made on milligram-scales since it was discovered (don't remember where I saw that, probably the comments of a "things I won't work with" entry)
Re: Biggest Diamond in More Than a Century Unearthed in Botswana
#35Earlier quoted context omitted.
It won't because the main value of dug diamonds is rarity, which makes them perfect goods to display your wealth and status. Many of these goods are stored in vaults (some in freeports, areas of an airport carved out for fiscally optimized storage), and the only sign of a change of ownership is an extra name on a registry... but the whole point is to leave your mark on that registry. So, the demand for these diamonds…
If you say "synthetic diamond" to most people (I suspect) they would imagine you mean cubic zirconia or something similar. A "synthetic" diamond is 100% a genuine diamond, made from the same stuff as mined diamonds.
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Re: Biggest Diamond in More Than a Century Unearthed in Botswana
#36Earlier quoted context omitted.
Interesting. Caloric value as the way to compare value of things rather than fiat money. That's how it used to work right? Maybe we fall back to that after society falls?
> That's how it used to work right? When?
Re: Biggest Diamond in More Than a Century Unearthed in Botswana
#37Earlier quoted context omitted.
Right you are... The people of Botswana don't even rate a mention in the article, they're likely not going to see a single dime of the proceeds which will be in the many tens of millions of US$.
The Botswana Government will get a 10% royalty.
Sounds about right for mineral rights. Oil and gas leases for the US pay a 12.5% royalty.
Re: Biggest Diamond in More Than a Century Unearthed in Botswana
#38Yay, this will bring so much wealth to the people of Botswana!
Right you are... The people of Botswana don't even rate a mention in the article, they're likely not going to see a single dime of the proceeds which will be in the many tens of millions of US$.
The BBC article about this, mentions that the diamond industry has transformed Botswana into a 'middle-income' country.
Re: Biggest Diamond in More Than a Century Unearthed in Botswana
#39Earlier quoted context omitted.
Its about what corporate taxes are many places. Why would it be different there?
Because it is value extracted, not value added, and because the receivers of the majority of that value are in a position to extract that value by virtue of having historically exploited Botswana. So the larger part of the value will be removed from the country rather than that it will become part of the local economy it will become part of our economy.
That could be, but for the jobs, transportation, development and taxes they pay, right? The benefit to Botswana is somewhat diminished by having the diamond shipped overseas. But lets be honest: there is no real industrial/commercial value to this diamond at all; it is simply a trophy.
Re: Biggest Diamond in More Than a Century Unearthed in Botswana
#40Yay, this will bring so much wealth to the people of Botswana!
Right you are... The people of Botswana don't even rate a mention in the article, they're likely not going to see a single dime of the proceeds which will be in the many tens of millions of US$.
Botswana is an upper-middle-income economy with a freer press and lower corruption than a number of European countries. Their level of corruption is slightly worse than that of France, and way better than most South or East European country (source: https://www.transparency.org/country/#BWA ; http://www.heritage.org/index/country/botswana).
Also, they are one of the largest producers of rough diamonds in the world, so a single stone may be a big deal for the company extracting it, but it means hardly anything to the country.
Africa has some insane level of corruption and poverty, but there are some exceptions (namely, Botswana and Mauritius).