South Africa narrowly avoided a technical recession, which occurs when the economy shrinks for two straight quarters. The country achieved a small growth of 0.1% in Q4 2023, following a decline of 0.2% in the third quarter, according to a report from the South African Statistics Agency (Stats SA) on Tuesday, March 5. A decrease in power outages by Eskom, the national electricity provider,...

Setting up the Madaouela uranium mine may cost $343 million, according to a feasibility study published in 2022. Once operational, however, the mine could produce up to 50.8 million pounds of uranium over 19 years. GoviEx Uranium has garnered interest from various financiers totaling over $200 million for the Madaouela uranium project in Niger. In a statement released on March 4, the...

Analysts are concerned about the future of the lithium market as prices remain down. However, in Ivory Coast, hopes remain high for tapping into the country's lithium-rich reserves, despite the challenging landscape. Recently, the first reverse circulation (RC) drilling campaign on the Atex lithium project, spanning 3,000 meters, concluded in Ivory Coast. Firering Strategic Minerals, the company...

Morocco collected MAD3.6 billion ($360 million) in foreign direct investments (FDI) in January 2024, marking a 21% increase compared to the same month in 2023, data released on March 1 by the Moroccan Foreign Exchange Office showed. However, remittances from the Moroccan diaspora saw a decrease of 2.6% in January 2024 compared to the same period last year, totaling MAD9.2 billion ($916 million),...

Botswana stands as Africa's leading producer of diamonds. The Botswana government operates several local mines under a joint venture with De Beers. Debswana, the JV, produced 24.7 million carats in 2022. Botswana’s top diamond producer, Debswana, sold $3.44 billion of diamonds in 2023, down 25% year-on-year. The Botswana Central Bank released the figure on February 29. It shows how the...

Benin announced in late February the reopening of its land border with Niger, in line with directives from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Yet, the passage remains sealed on the Niger side, despite the operational commencement of the Benin-Niger pipeline. Amid rising tensions with Niamey, Benin has welcomed a delegation from Niger's customs service since Sunday, March 3,...

More than a million people work in artisanal and small-scale mines in Ghana. Most of them work illegally, and sometimes they attack industrial mines. Some of these conflicts can be deadly. Two security agents were killed last Saturday at the Asanko gold mine in Ghana. They died during a clash with illegal miners. According to Galiano Gold, the firm that owns the mine, a civilian was also killed....

Illegal mining is a major problem in Nigeria. The Buhari regime had made it a priority. So has the Tinubu regime. Still, efforts to tackle the issue have shown limitations, thus calling for new measures.  Nigeria is setting up a new armed unit to fight illegal mining nationwide. The news, announced on March 1, comes after years of unfruitful efforts to deal with the issue,...

The package should benefit countries grappling with the food shortages spurred by the war in Ukraine, regional conflicts, and droughts induced by climate change. Japan will provide Africa ¥5.042 billion (approximately $33.5 million) to enhance food security. The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs disclosed the aid on March 1, 2024. According to the same source, this funding will benefit...

Rwanda has agreed to accept illegal migrants from the United Kingdom on its territory in exchange for British investment. Initiated in 2022, the project has faced criticism from human rights NGOs and encountered strong opposition in British and European courts. The National Audit Office (NAO), a government spending watchdog in the United Kingdom, announced on Friday, March 1st, that the UK would...