Côte d'Ivoire launched three new gold mines since January 2023. Last year, the country produced 51 tonnes of gold and eyes 55 tonnes this year. More projects are being developed, and Ivorian gold output should increase in the coming years. Centamin released a feasibility study for its Doropo gold project on July 18. The mine could produce 167,000 ounces of gold annually for a decade, totaling...

A combination of factors can explain this rise in rates. Ultimately, states borrow at higher costs, even though the financial sector fully benefits. This situation reignites the issue of borrowing constraints for African states. Despite a slight decline, investors in the WAEMU (West African Economic and Monetary Union) money market continue to reap attractive returns on government-issued debt...

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group approved a loan of $260.4 million to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to help finance the Project to Support the Development of Value Chains as part of its backing for the Agriculture Transformation Programme (PADCV-PTA).  The project, totalling $311.6 million, is being funded by a $250.4 million loan from the...

Canada's Orezone supplied 7% of Burkina Faso's gold output in 2023 from the Bomboré mine. This year, the firm plans to produce between 110,000 and 125,000 ounces of gold, down from 141,425 ounces last year. In the first half of 2024, the Bomboré mine produced 55,663 ounces of gold, down 27% year-on-year. On July 18, Orezone confirmed its production target for the year–between 110,000 and...

Zimbabwe is Africa's top producer of lithium. Despite falling lithium prices, the country keeps attracting foreign investments in its lithium sector. On July 18, the state-owned company Kuvimba Mining announced a $310 million deal to build a lithium concentrator within 18 months. The project is supported by a group of British and Chinese investors, which remain unknown. The concentrator is...

The African Development Bank Group has approved a ZAR 18.85 billion ($1 billion) corporate loan to Transnet, South Africa’s major freight transport and logistics company, for its recovery and growth plans. The 25-year loan approved by the Bank Group’s Board of Directors on Friday, 12 July 2024, is fully guaranteed by the government of South Africa. It will facilitate the first phase of the...

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) aims to invest 4202.4 billion Congolese francs ($1.5 billion) from its own funds in 2024. This move is part of a broader effort to reduce reliance on foreign investments, particularly in key sectors such as education and healthcare. The government plans to contribute more than 50% to its investment needs by 2030. In 2022, the International Monetary Fund...

South Africa's tourism industry is on the rise following a significant downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) projects that the sector will continue to grow at an average rate of 7.6% annually through 2032. Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille announced on July 16, 2024, that foreign tourist arrivals in South Africa reached 3.8 million during the first...

The government of Côte d'Ivoire is set to finalize the recapitalization of the Banque de l'Habitat de Côte d'Ivoire (BHCI) by the end of 2024, according to a recent report by the International Monetary Fund. This process, initiated by the Council of Ministers on December 15, 2021, will see an injection of 46.4 billion FCFA into the bank. As of the end of 2022, the Ivorian state held 86.76% of...

Burkina Faso's external debt increased by 4.4% to reach CFA3,097.52 billion ($5.1 billion) at the end of March 2024, up from December 2023, according to the latest public debt statistics bulletin released by the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The bulletin attributes this rise primarily to net disbursements on external loans and exchange rate fluctuations. Notably, 32.6% of this external debt...