The concession was originally granted by the Matabele King, Lobengula, son of Mzilikazi, to Sir John Swinburne in exchange for gold and arms.
The chief town of this region is Francistown, now one of Botswana's major settlements.
[1] Tati Concessions Limited was formed by Sir John Swinburne after agreement was reached with Chief Lobengula, King of the Matabele, son of Mzilikaze, in which Lobengula and the Matabele received gold and arms, in exchange for rights to mine and occupy this area of land in Western Matabeleland.
It was also given the right by the British Government to issue its own Revenue stamps in 1896 for use on legal instruments.
[9] Soon after independence, new owners of the Company agreed generous land deals with the Botswana Government under Sir Seretse Khama, in which all the undeveloped land in Francistown, and much of the Company's agricultural land was donated to Government, or sold for nominal value, for the benefit of the Batswana people, especially those with limited means.