Congolese officials are divided about setting export restrictions as technologies for cobalt-free electric vehicle batteries rapidly advance. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has sought input from several international industry organizations and foreign research bodies on potentially implementing cobalt export quotas to drive up prices. Bloomberg reported the news on Thursday, April 11,...

Zambia had its copper output fall for the third consecutive year last year. It stood at 680,000 tons. Meanwhile, the country seeks to bring it to more than a million tons per year by 2026 and triple it in the following years.  The Luanshya copper mine is back online. President Hakainde Hichilema launched the revival works on April 11, 2024. The $500 million project is carried out by...

Ukraine has further solidified its ties with Côte d'Ivoire by inaugurating its embassy in Abidjan yesterday April 11. The ceremony was attended by Maksym Soubkh, a special envoy of the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, and Wautabouna Ouattara, the Ivorian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. Local media highlighted the strategic importance of the new embassy, underscoring the reciprocal nature of the...

The Cameroonian government is stepping up its efforts to resolve the security crisis in the North-West, South-West, Far-North, and Adamaoua regions. Official figures reported by Paul Atanga Nji (pictured, center), Minister of Territorial Administration, showed that terrorists in the NoSo regions have collected CFA320 million (around $524,100) in ransom via mobile money over the past 12...

Société Ivoirienne de Banque (SIB) has reported strong financial results for 2023, but also disclosed a significant allocation of $3.25 million (CFA2 billion) to cover unspecified "operational risks." This precautionary measure raised the bank's risk-related expenses to an unprecedented CFA8 billion. The exact nature of these risks was not detailed, leaving room for speculation that they...

Amidst a raging competition for graphite which is a key element of EV batteries, companies active in Africa look for ways to make more money. NextSource, which is active in Madagascar, wants to invest more in processing. NextSource Materials, the company operating the Molo graphite mine in Madagascar, announced this week the signing of a long-term lease agreement to set up its first Battery...

In 2022, Guinea signed several investment agreements to develop port and railway infrastructure using iron from the Simandou deposit. Through the deals, valued at $15 billion, the country sought to commence production at Simandou by the end of 2025. The Guinean government has sealed the final deals for the exploitation of the Simandou iron ore deposit and the development of associated...

Moov Africa Burkina Faso, the country's second-largest telecom operator by subscriber count, holds a market share of 42.91% as of the third quarter of 2023, contending closely with market leader Orange and Telecel. In 2023, Moov Africa Burkina Faso (Onatel) reported a net income of CFA20.1 billion ($33.3 million), marking a 14% decrease from the CFA23.37 billion recorded in 2022. The subsidiary...

Set to begin production in 2026, the Tiris project is poised to become Mauritania's first uranium mine. Initial estimates put the project’s output potential at around 2 million pounds per year over 17 years, but a new mineral estimation could enhance these figures. On April 10, Australian mining company Aura Energy released exploration for its Tiris uranium project in Mauritania. The ongoing...

Botswana is Africa's top diamond producer, a title it owes to mines operated by De Beers and Lucara. One of the firms active in the country is betting on innovative methods for exploration. Botswana Diamonds, a British firm, will apply AI to its extensive database in Botswana. The firm announced the move on April 9, stating that it will facilitate diamond deposit...