CAPE TOWN, South Africa, October 3, 2026/APO Group/ –State-owned mining companies from Malawi, Kenya and Eswatini will bring their respective project and investment priorities to the National Mining Companies Forum – taking place during African Mining Week (AMW) this October. Their participation strengthens the event’s focus on mobilizing capital for African-led mineral development, supporting the transition from resource potential to bankable projects and domestic value addition.

 




  

Malawi Mining Investment Company (MAMICO) joins the conference as the country seeks to convert a broad mineral endowment into a stronger pipeline of commercially viable mining and processing projects. The country is targeting opportunities across gold, graphite, rare earths, limestone and other strategic minerals, with growing emphasis on geological de-risking, feasibility work and domestic value addition.

These opportunities are backed by a recent roadmap launched by the Malawian government and the World Bank. The roadmap projects up to $30 billion generated from mineral exports between 2026 and 2040, highlighting the scale of opportunity across the market. MAMICO’s participation at the AMW forum reflects a commitment to reaching this ambition. CEO Leonard Kalindekafe will lead a large delegation of  representatives to the event.

Kenya’s National Mining Corporation’s (NAMICO) participation in the forum comes as the country targets an increase in mining’s contribution to GDP to 10% by 2030. Kenya is positioning copper, chromite, gold, fluorspar, rare earths and other strategic minerals as part of a wider push to expand domestic mining, beneficiation and downstream processing.

These opportunities are backed by the draft Minerals, Mining and Beneficiation Policy 2026, alongside a growing pipeline of projects. The West Kenya Gold Project is advancing toward development, while six international companies are competing to develop the Mrima Hill Niobium and Rare Earth Project. Kenya is also advancing the Migori Tailings Project and renewed fluorspar activity in the Kerio Valley. NAMICO’s participation at the AMW forum reflects its role in supporting this investment drive through state-backed partnerships and joint ventures. CEO Joseph Kitilit will lead the corporation’s delegation to the event.

Eswatini will use the AMW Forum to spotlight a renewed push to expand its mining industry through exploration and development across coal, gold, iron ore and other mineral resources. In July, the government confirmed that it had secured a mining partner to begin formal gold extraction, with plans for domestically produced gold to be purchased by the state and held as part of the country’s national reserves. Eswatini has also allocated E6.13 million for follow-up surveys and feasibility work on mineral targets identified through its geological survey program. These initiatives are expected to feature prominently at AMW 2026 as Eswatini Solid Minerals Company joins the National Mining Companies Forum.

Taking place on the final day of AMW 2026, the National Mining Companies Forum examines how state-owned institutions are positioning themselves as commercial partners capable of driving projects, mobilizing capital and leading domestic beneficiation. Sessions will tackle various themes, from Building Investable Pipelines for National Mining Companies to The Investor’s Lens: Capital Readiness and Financing NMC Projects to Critical Minerals and Regional Value Chains: The Beneficiation Imperative.

By bringing companies such as MAMICO, NAMICO and Eswatini Solid Minerals Company directly into discussions with capital providers and technical partners, the forum will provide a platform for national mining companies to showcase opportunities, establish partnerships and move African mineral projects from geological potential toward investment and development.

AMW 2026 takes place October 14-16 under the theme Mining the Future: Unearthing Africa’s Full Mineral Value. For more information, visit www.African-MiningWeek.com

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, October 2, 2026/APO Group/ –Liberia will showcase its 2026 Offshore Direct Negotiation Licensing Round at African Energy Week (AEW) 2026 in Cape Town. Organized by Energy Capital & Power (ECP) in partnership with the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA), the investment-focused campaign will present 29 offshore blocks, over 80,000 km² of seismic data, and a growing pipeline of corporate interest to international investors during Africa’s largest energy event.

 




  

The LPRA’s formal presentation follows months of preparation led by Director General Marilyn T. Logan, including an August 19 investor day in Houston and the August 28 opening of prequalification. Companies are now able to establish their technical and financial eligibility ahead of expressions of interest and block-specific negotiations.

Liberia’s offshore offering spans the Liberia and Harper basins, with available acreage targeting a range of Cretaceous structures, deepwater basin-floor fans and structural closures, with the wider petroleum system sharing geological characteristics with prolific plays across the Atlantic margin.

The round is backed by a substantial subsurface data package comprising more than 50,000 line-km of 2D seismic and over 31,000 km² of 3D seismic. TGS and Core Laboratories have supported the technical program, while additional gravity, magnetic, well-log and multi-client datasets provide further information for companies evaluating the acreage.

TGS has reprocessed 12,000 km of 2D seismic using Pre-Stack Depth Migration, alongside 5,100 km² of reprocessed 3D data from a 26,000-km² volume. The wider TGS library includes more than 24,000 km of legacy 2D data, strengthening imaging across an offshore frontier where subsurface definition remains central to exploration decisions.

The available Liberia Basin acreage includes LB-1, LB-2, LB-3, LB-7, LB-12, LB-13 and LB-14, while Harper Basin opportunities include LB-18, LB-19, LB-20, LB-21, LB-23, LB-25 and LB-28. Other blocks within the wider 29-block grid are already covered by existing commitments and agreements.

TotalEnergies holds LB-6, LB-11, LB-17 and LB-29, covering approximately 12,700 km², while Atlas Oranto Petroleum holds LB-15, LB-16, LB-22 and LB-24. PetroQuest holds interests connected to LB-32, while RL-003 covers LB-26, LB-30 and LB-31 and involves TotalEnergies and BluEnergies in a separate study and application arrangement.

Activity around LB-32 has provides a fresh indication of corporate interest ahead of the AEW launch. Australian independent Bounty Oil & Gas agreed on September 22 to acquire 100% of PetroQuest Liberia Deep Water, which holds an exclusive letter of engagement with the National Oil Company of Liberia to negotiate a PSC for the Harper Basin block.

The Harper Basin’s geological setting is also attracting attention because of its relationship to neighboring Ivory Coast’s offshore petroleum system. Eni’s Baleine and Calao discoveries have demonstrated the wider prospectivity of the regional margin, while companies including Petrobras and Murphy Oil are pursuing comparable Upper Cretaceous deepwater plays elsewhere in the region.

Liberia’s licensing process uses a direct negotiation model, allowing qualified companies to advance individual technical and commercial prospects. The process operates under Liberia’s 2014 Petroleum Exploration and Production Act and its 2019 amendments, while resulting PSCs require signatures from both the LPRA and Ministry of Finance and Development Planning. Companies are assessed on technical capability, financial strength and offshore experience before progressing into negotiations over proposed exploration programs.

With prequalification now open and valid for five years, companies can establish their eligibility ahead of the licensing round and be prepared to move quickly when new opportunities are launched.

The Launch of the Liberia 2026 Offshore Direct Negotiation Licensing Round – organized by Energy Capital and Power – will take place at African Energy Week (AEW) 2026 on October 14 at The Orchid, CTICC 2. Visit, http://apo-opa.co/4rLt3ZI for more information.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, October 2, 2026/APO Group/ –The United States is widening its engagement with Africa’s energy sector, combining government-backed finance, technology partnerships and private-sector investment across markets from Mozambique and Nigeria to Kenya, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Josh Volz, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Europe, Eurasia, Africa and the Middle East at the U.S. Department of Energy, will bring that agenda to African Energy Week 2026 in Cape Town from October 12-16.

 




  

Volz returns to AEW as Washington’s engagement with African energy markets increasingly spans both hydrocarbons and electricity infrastructure. In April, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency brought energy decision-makers from the DRC, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda to the U.S. to meet American companies working on transmission and distribution technologies, including AI-enabled grid systems. The program was designed to connect U.S. technology providers with prospective projects and procurement opportunities in African power markets.

Mozambique illustrates the scale that U.S. financing can bring to an African gas project. In March 2025, the U.S. Export-Import Bank approved a nearly $5 billion loan for TotalEnergies’ Mozambique LNG development, reviving a financing package for the long-delayed project. The original $4.7 billion commitment had been approved during the first Trump administration but required reapproval after construction was suspended in 2021. Meanwhile, ExxonMobil and its Area 4 partners awarded approximately $1.1 billion in pre-investment contracts for long-lead equipment and early construction activities at the Rovuma LNG project in August.

Development finance is another part of the equation. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation’s investment ceiling rose from $60 billion to $205 billion following its 2025 reauthorization, while the agency gained expanded authority covering international investments in strategic sectors including energy and critical minerals. The new authorization runs through 2031.

The DFC has also continued to approve new transactions in Africa in 2026. On September 16, the agency announced more than $8 billion in new investments globally, including projects supporting infrastructure and resources across Africa, as part of an effort to promote U.S. exports, energy security and American technology.

U.S. companies such as GE Vernova are active across African power markets, providing generation, transmission, grid and software technologies. The company says its technology is installed in more than 50 countries across the Middle East and Africa; in Nigeria alone, its equipment is installed across more than 40 sites, while its grid technology has also supported regional integration through the West African Power Pool.

Energy access is another emerging strand of Washington’s engagement. U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright co-chaired the July 2026 high-level summit on clean cooking in Africa alongside Kenyan President William Ruto, Norway and the International Energy Agency. The meeting produced $900 million in new commitments, taking total commitments since the 2024 Africa Clean Cooking Summit to more than $3.1 billion. Wright described clean cooking as a major but often overlooked energy-access challenge.

Volz has previously argued that African countries should determine their own energy pathways while the United States looks for ways to partner with them. Speaking at AEW 2025, he said: “International governments should not stand in the way of how African nations determine their energy futures. We are eager to hear how best we can, from a U.S. perspective, partner with Africa.” He also pointed to $65 billion in existing U.S. private-sector investment in Africa and a $2.5 billion U.S. government pledge to support energy expansion.

That approach will have a substantial U.S. presence at AEW 2026. The current program confirms Volz alongside U.S. Senator Ted Cruz, United States Energy Association President and CEO Mark W. Menezes and DFC Managing Director and Regional Head of Africa Vibhuti Jain, among other U.S.-linked executives and policymakers. Jain will also participate in the dedicated U.S.-Africa Energy & Investment Forum on October 14, which will bring together U.S. and African companies, investors and policymakers to discuss capital, technology and commercial partnerships.

“The DFC is better resourced than it has ever been, making this an opportune moment for African operators to make their case. This conference is about making sure the capital and the projects actually find each other,” said NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber.

For African energy markets, the expanding U.S. role reaches across project finance, LNG, upstream development, electricity infrastructure, grid technology and clean cooking. Volz’s participation at AEW 2026 comes as those relationships increasingly move from broad policy discussions toward individual projects, commercial partnerships and technology deployment across the continent.