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Africa Mining

Niger embraces Russia for uranium production leaving France out in the cold (RFI France – November 13, 2024)

https://www.rfi.fr/en/

Niger has called on Russian firms to directly invest in uranium and other natural resource production, following the collapse of relations with former colonial ruler France and the eviction of French nuclear giant Orano from the country

Niger’s recent diplomatic shift away from France towards Russia has marked a turning point in the nation’s resource management strategy, particularly concerning its abundant uranium reserves.

Following the military coup in July 2023, which resulted in the removal of President Mohamed Bazoum, Niger’s military junta has been taking increasingly bold steps to redefine its international partnerships, especially in the critical mining sector.

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South Africa’s government won’t help the illegal miners inside a closed mine – by Mogomotsi Magome (Associated Press – November 14, 2024)

https://apnews.com/

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s government says it won’t help a group of illegal miners inside a closed mine in the country’s North West province who have been denied access to basic supplies as part of an official strategy against illegal mining.

The miners in the mineshaft in Stilfontein are believed to be suffering from a lack of food, water and other basic necessities after police closed off the entrances used to transport their supplies underground.

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Barrick prepared to give Mali more than half of economic spoils to end fiscal dispute – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – November 8, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. chief executive Mark Bristow says the Canadian gold miner is prepared to fork over to Mali more than half of the economic spoils from mining in the country, as it toils to put an end to yet another fiscal dispute with an overseas government.

Toronto-based Barrick over the past few years has bounced from one fiscal dispute to another with several host countries over taxes, royalties and joint-venture stakes in its mines overseas. After patching up disputes that lasted for years with both Tanzania in East Africa and then Papua New Guinea in the southwestern Pacific, Barrick this year has tangled with Mali’s military junta in West Africa.

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World’s biggest cobalt miner is gloomy on the EV metal’s future – by Annie Lee (Bloomberg News – November 6, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

The world’s No. 1 cobalt miner is sounding the alarm over the shrinking role of the metal in electric vehicle batteries. Chinese company CMOC Group Ltd., which has been churning out cobalt much faster than rivals like Glencore Plc, said the importance of the raw material in the energy transition is declining rapidly.

The adoption of cobalt-free lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, batteries has gained momentum in recent years, due to them being cheaper to manufacture. The proportion of EV batteries in China containing cobalt will drop to 31% in 2024, from 44% two years ago, according to consultancy CRU Group.

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Botswana’s new president aims to clinch De Beers diamond sales pact soon – by Brian Benza, Felix Njini and Clara Denina (Reuters – November 1, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

Botswana’s new president, Duma Boko, said on Friday he wanted to conclude talks for a new sales pact with global diamonds giant De Beers as soon as possible.

De Beers, a unit of mining company Anglo American, last year agreed a new diamond sales pact, which would see the government’s share of diamonds from the Debswana joint venture gradually increase to 50% over the next decade.

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Ivanhoe cuts copper forecast on DRC power woes, while Friedland touts new discoveries – by Henry Lazenby (Northern Miner – October 30, 2024)

https://www.northernminer.com/

Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN; US-OTC: IVPAF) on Wednesday reported record third-quarter copper production but cut its full-year guidance by 6%, blaming power outages at its Kamoa-Kakula complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Toronto-based company lowered the copper guidance to 425,000–450,000 tonnes, from 440,000–490,000 tonnes. The disruptions stemmed from deficient transmission capacity and instability in the DRC’s southern grid, managed by state-owned Société Nationale d’Électricité. Delays in upgrading the Inga II dam’s transmission line and grid bottlenecks at the Kolwezi substation limited reliable power delivery.

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Global Atomic anticipates $295m loan for Dasa project by Q1 2025 – by Staff (Mining.com – October 29, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

Global Atomic (TSX: GLO) said on Tuesday it anticipates securing a project financing loan from the US development bank by early Q1 2025 to advance its Dasa uranium project in Niger.

The company reported that in recent discussions, the bank confirmed its intention to approve a $295 million debt facility, which would cover 60% of the project’s projected costs. Dasa is the highest-grade uranium deposit in Africa, surpassed only by grades found in Canada’s Athabasca Basin, and is scheduled to achieve commercial production in early 2026.

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Resource nationalism and political instability: Strategies for risk management – by Timothy Foden, Kristen Young and Rebecca Mee (Mining.com – October 25, 2024)

https://www.mining.com/

As global demand for minerals and raw materials increases, buoyed by the soaring of certain commodity prices, purported green ambitions, and nationalist fervour, governments have begun wielding a range of regulatory tools and sometimes strong-arm tactics against foreign mining companies in the name of resource nationalism.

The resurgence of resource nationalism—particularly in countries experiencing political upheaval, such as the “Coup Belt” in Francophone Africa—poses a major risk to the ambitions of foreign mining companies and the battery revolution.

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Eastern DR Congo grapples with Chinese gold mining firms (RFI – October 27, 2024)

https://www.rfi.fr/en/

Kamituga (AFP) – Italian priest Davide Marcheselli has been fighting for years against Chinese companies illegally mining gold in the town of Kitutu in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

He says mining has spoilt the town which lies in South Kivu province, polluting rivers and destroying fields. Hundreds of foreign companies, most of them Chinese-owned, mine gold in the mineral-rich province often without permits and without declaring profits, according to local authorities.

For a long time, civil society groups and members of the church in Kitutu, have been the only people taking a stand against the powerful mining businesses, who often have friends in high places. “From the deputies, to the village chief, everyone receives something (from the companies), money or shares (in businesses),” Marcheselli told AFP.

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Diamond-rich Botswana holds an election with new economic challenges for a long-ruling party – by Sello Motseta (Associated Press – October 28, 2024)

https://apnews.com/

GABORONE, Botswana (AP) — Botswana votes in a national election this week that will decide if the ruling party extends a 58-year stretch in power in a southern African country that is a leading diamond producer and often held up as one of the most stable and least corrupt democracies on the continent.

President Mokgweetsi Masisi of the ruling Botswana Democratic Party, or BDP, is seeking a second and final term in office, although Wednesday’s election isn’t directly for president. Voters will decide the makeup of Parliament and lawmakers will later elect the president.

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Gold mining’s potential in West Africa – by Scarlett Evans (Mining Technology – October 25, 2024)

https://www.mining-technology.com/

West Africa is a major gold mining hub, but political instability and illegal mining activities are preventing its full development.

Global gold prices are surging, surpassing $2,700/oz this month, already up by more than a fifth compared with 2023.

In this landscape, gold hubs across the world are working to formalise their mining sectors, capitalising on the rising demand and boosting investments, driven, a GlobalData report says, by “growing demand for safe-haven assets”.

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[Niger Mining] Orano suspends operations at Arlit (World Nuclear News – October 24, 2024)

https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/

Major financial difficulties facing SOMAÏR, the operator of the Arlit uranium mine in Niger, have led to the decision to suspend its activities from the end of October.

The French company said the financial difficulties which have been facing its 63.4%-owned subsidiary since July 2023 – when then-President of Niger Mohamed Bazoum was deposed in a coup d’état – have continued to grow. Niger’s border with Benin, through which uranium concentrates produced at Arlit are exported – has remained closed since the events of July 2023.

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Mali threatens to let Barrick mine permit lapse over dispute – by Katarina Höije, Diakaridia Dembele and William Clowes (Bloomberg News – October 25, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

Mali’s military government has threatened to take back Barrick Gold Corp.’s Loulo mine concession when the current permit expires in 2026, amid an escalating dispute over how to divide the economic benefits from operations in the country.

Mali is considering letting the permit for Loulo lapse when it expires in February 2026, Finance Minister Alousseni Sanou said in an Oct. 18 letter sent to Barrick’s chief executive officer Mark Bristow, and seen by Bloomberg. Mali “reserves the right not to renew the operating permit” and invited Barrick to talks on the mine’s “transition phase” starting later this month, Sanou wrote.

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World’s Top Ruby Mine in Mozambique Stormed After ‘Fake’ Notice – by Matthew Hill (Bloomberg News – October 20, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

About 300 people on Sunday invaded a pit at Gemfields Group Ltd.’s ruby mine in Mozambique, which accounts for about half the world’s supply of the stones, executive officer Sean Gilbertson said. Two people were shot and injured by police, he said.

A crowd of about 500 people later gathered at a village near the Montepuez ruby mine in northeastern Mozambique intending to enter the mine, Gilbertson said by text message.

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Illegal mines, pollution and a thirsty global market: Anger mounts over Ghana’s gold problem – by Zinhle Essamuah and Arleen Aguasvivas (NBC News – October 20, 2024)

https://www.nbcnews.com/

Mercury and heavy metals in the country have contaminated over 60% of the West African nation’s water sources, according to Ghana’s Water Resources Commission.

ACCRA, Ghana — Illegal small-scale gold mining in Ghana has been linked with the destruction of the environment and illness. But for some, the practice known locally as galamsey provides livelihoods and an informal boost to the West African nation’s economy.

With a general election approaching in December, galamsey is proving to be a hot-button issue for the nation’s lawmakers — including President Nana Akufo-Addo — in the face of widespread demonstrations across the country calling for a crackdown on the practice.

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