Trending
- African Energy 2024: Surging investment, waves of change
- AIM Congress 2025: Competition opens doors for Africa’s top tech innovators
- Zimbabwe rolls out $24M project to reduce use of mercury in gold mines
- Zambia secures $184M IMF support as economic growth set to decline to 1.2 per cent
- Equity enters alliance with ODDO BHF to spur Europe-Africa investments
- Air Tanzania hits turbulence: Can the airline fly back to EU skies?
- Ghana’s President Elect John Mahama Outlines His Economic Blueprint
- AfDB backs “green shares” funding model with $30M AFC equity boost
Extractive and Energy
Africa has been hailed as the next frontier in the provision of global oil and natural gas resources, especially now in the wake of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.
This crisis has not only altered the global energy landscape, but also instigated an inflation in gas prices, given the former’s position in the hierarchy of major global producers. As sanctions continue to soar, Europe has embarked on a quest to find contingency energy supplies, as it seeks to minimize its dependency on Russia; which has already cut off gas supplies to countries like Finland, Poland and Bulgaria, over energy payment disputes.
Consequently, Africa’s gas resources have gained a newly found prominence, pertinently by the European Union (EU); owing to the continent’s rich endowment of oil and deep gas reserves. The mounting global demand for gas, has been pushing international energy companies to reconsider African projects. The numerous ongoing and upcoming oil …
Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has ordered the country’s Ministry of Minerals to allocate land to iron and other metal smelters; and to lure investors quickly, the president said the land allocation may even be done at ‘no direct charge’ to the investor.
The President issued the order at a swearing in ceremony for the ministry’s new deputy minister, on Friday 11.12.20. President Magufuli was emphatic over the sector’s potential to contribute to national development. He specifically named a few areas that have already been identified to have ‘millions of tonnes of iron deposits.
“We have so much iron deposit, if the smelters ate willing to melt stolen rails they are willing to smelt iron ores,” he said.
“Give investors areas to mine iron and other metals and minerals,” he went on to say and even pointed out that “…even right here at the capital, we have iron deposits.”
With that, …
After slow production during the Covid-19 lock down, Zimbabwe’s gold sector has had a drastic come back reporting gold revenue is up almost 50 percent at least one of its major mines.
The total revenue recorded for the second quarter of 2020 clocked and impressive to USD23. 6 million, that is almost double (48 percent) the revenue brought in during the same period last year.
Having topped last year’s production by USD15. 9 million, Blanket Gold Mine that is based in the Gwanda region, increased production all through the first quarter this despite glitches caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The mine is owned by the Caledonia Mining Corporation and was proud to announce it had produced 14,233 ounces of gold in the second quarter up from the 11,948 produced during the same period last year.
The production level is very impressive given the fact that other miners could not access …
Uganda’s Umeme has secured a $70 million syndicated loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Dutch Development Bank (FMO), Standard Chartered Bank and Stanbic bank.
From the loan $28 million was from IFC, $10 million from FMO, $16 million from Standard Chartered Bank and $16 million from Stanbic bank.
Umeme chairman, Mr Patrick Bitature said the loan would partly be used to undertake capital investments to get electricity from Uganda’s newest dams.
“The planned investments are aimed at expanding the network to uptake the new generation, improve reliability and create access,” he said.
Also Read: IFC $22M partnership with Investment Funds for Health in Africa
Mr Bitature said the loan would also be utilised to prioritise Umeme’s investments in five other areas such as upgrading its network, extending power to industrial parks, building the backbone for more electricity connections to be supplied, reducing energy losses and accelerate prepayment metering.…
The European Investment Bank (EIB) recently partnered with the Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development Bank (TDB) to open a $120 million credit line to finance renewable energy projects for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The agreement was signed between the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the Trade and Development Bank of Eastern and Southern Africa (TDB), a commercial bank owned by the Member States of COMESA, the World Bank (AfDB) and China on the sidelines of the 9th Summit of Heads of State and Government of African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Countries
The partnership agreement was signed by EIB Vice-President, Ambroise Fayolle and Admassu Tadesse, President and CEO of TDB. The agreement provides a line of credit to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) investing in renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Also Read: French Development Agency provides $30 million for African SMEs
Companies have the means to bypass …
Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) gave $81.30 to Mozambique’s national energy utility, Electricidade De Mocambique (EDM) for the rehabilitation and upgrading of the energy supply network.
This financing support is in line with Mozambique’s 2030 plan to upgrade its power network for it to provide universal electricity access.
Electricidade De Mocambique has launched several projects focusing on strengthening the transmission grid and improving distribution capacity in the country.
Phase one is ready for implementation. It comprises of two out of twelve projects located at Pemba City and Maputo City at an estimated cost of $81.30 million.
Also Read: African Development Banks and ABSA sign Risk Participation Agreement
The DBSA loan facility will be advanced directly to EDM as a 15-year senior debt facility.
Banco Nacional de Investimento (BNI), Mozambique’s development bank served as the project’s evaluation partner and providing capital raising and advisory services.
Development Bank of Southern Africa …
