Senegal’s inaugural offshore oil project – anticipates first oil in mid-2024. Operated by the Australian exploration and production company Woodside Energy, the project is set to process 100,000 barrels per day through FPSO Léopold Sédar Senghor from subsea wells. Once operational, Sangomar will mark Senegal’s debut in oil production, generating several important impacts for the country and the wider region. Revived Exploration With the arrival of first oil, the MSGBC region will likely see a
Zambia has launched a national geological mapping program to better understand its mineral resource deposits and untapped potential. Spearheaded by the government, the survey aims to promote mineral exploration in the country by quantifying resources and supporting strategic investments, with a view to capitalizing on the growing global demand for critical minerals. Speaking at a mining conference in Cape Town on Monday, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema stated that “by 2040, an additional nine million tons
New sanctions on Russia will fast-track the adoption of traceability programs across the supply chain. Should they wish to sell those diamonds into the Group of Seven (G7) countries, companies will have to prove their goods were sourced from non-Russian production. On December 6, the G7 — comprising Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States — announced its latest sanctions, aimed at “limiting Russia’s ability to fund its illegal war,”
Nigeria’s Dangote refinery, the biggest in Africa, is gearing up to bring in crude from the US in the next few months. Traders with insider information revealed that Trafigura Group has sold 2 million barrels of WTI Midland to the Dangote refinery for delivery at the end of February, Bloomberg reported. Traders have noted that this marks the first occasion where the refinery has procured crude oil from sources outside of Nigeria. The surge in
The ever-changing landscape of the mining industry, marked by bold transformations and rapid shifts, has prompted Raksha Naidoo, CEO of The Particle Group and Chairperson of Women in Mining South Africa (WiMSA), to share valuable insights on positive disruption and the emerging trends shaping the future of African mining in a recent interview with Penelope Masilela. With the focus on the Mining Indaba 2024 theme, “Embracing the Power of Positive Disruption for a Bold New
The diamond miner, De Beers, reported provisional rough diamond sales of $370 million in its initial sales cycle for the current year. Although this figure was lower than the $454 million recorded in the first sales cycle of 2023, it marked an improvement from the $137 million in sales documented in the tenth sales cycle of the same year. De Beers CEO Al Cook commented on the sales performance, stating, “Solid consumer demand for diamonds
Uganda is staking its future on the development of its oil and gas resources, unveiling a dual strategy that involves tapping into hydrocarbon wealth while concurrently implementing an energy transition plan financed by the profits generated from these resources. According to Uganda’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Ruth Nankabirwa Ssentamu, the country anticipates a significant economic boost over the next 25 years, with oil and gas revenues injecting $8.6 billion into Uganda’s GDP as
As the 2023 U.N. Climate Change Conference, the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) in Dubai drew to a close, the air was thick with determination among the 200 delegates. Acknowledging that the era of fossil fuels was on its last legs, they collectively pledged to hasten its demise. This was heralded as “the beginning of the end” for coal, oil, and natural gas. The nails and hammers were poised to pound the coffin of a
Kibali, the largest gold mine in Africa, has become one of the continent’s greenest and most impressively automated operations. It continues to drive local economic development and provides ongoing funding for the reintroduction of white rhinos into a UNESCO World Heritage site in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). On the clean energy front, the majority of the electricity powering Kibali is already sourced from its three hydropower stations. Once Kibali’s new 16 MW solar
Australian mining company Paladin Energy has resumed production at the Langer Heinrich Uranium mine in Namibia. First ore has been fed into the mine’s processing plant, with the full restart of operations 93% complete. The company aims to achieve commercial production by the end of Q1 2024. The project is supported by $150 million in debt funding secured by Paladin Energy from financial institutions Nedbank and Macquarie Bank. The $150 million syndicated debt facility will
