Connect with us

Business

Africa’s Mining Boom Has a New Financier: Domestic Capital

Published

on

Etu Energias

As African banks and investors take larger stakes in mining deals across the continent, Moore Infinity’s Danie Dorfling tells African Mining Week why domestic capital will be critical to financing Africa’s next generation of mineral projects

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, July 21, 2026/APO Group/ –As demand for critical minerals accelerates and governments push to capture more value from their resources, African banks and investors are stepping into larger roles financing the projects that will define the continent’s next mining era.

The latest example came in July, when Kropz subsidiary Kropz Elandsfontein secured a R200 million loan from Ubuntu-Botho Investments, the indirect controlling shareholder of African Rainbow Capital, to strengthen its phosphate mining operations in South Africa’s Western Cape. The transaction reflects growing confidence among domestic investors in Africa’s mining sector and signals a broader trend: regional capital is increasingly moving from the sidelines into the center of mining development.

In an exclusive interview with Energy Capital & Power, organizers of African Mining Week (AMW), Danie Dorfling, Head of Business Development at Moore Infinity – a partner of AMW – said the growing participation of domestic capital marks a fundamental shift in how Africa finances mining projects.

“Domestic capital is no longer an optional supplement to foreign investment. It is becoming a test of whether Africa can convert its mineral wealth into durable domestic financial capacity,” he said.

Dorfling pointed to the $700 million financing package secured in April 2026 for Phase 2 of South Africa’s Platreef Mine by Nedbank, Absa and France’s Société Générale as an example of African financial institutions partnering with global lenders to finance complex, large-scale mining developments.

Domestic capital is no longer an optional supplement to foreign investment

“The significance is that African banks were not asked to replace international capital; they participated alongside it in a major, complex mining financing. That hybrid model is likely to be more scalable than expecting large projects to be funded exclusively from either domestic or international balance sheets,” said Dorfling.

The trend extends beyond South Africa. As Africa seeks to mobilize its estimated $2 trillion in non-bank domestic capital to finance strategic infrastructure and industrial development, regional financial institutions are expanding their role across the mining value chain.

Tharisa recently secured a R750 million revolving asset finance facility from Nedbank to acquire specialized underground mining equipment for its Apollo Mine in South Africa’s Bushveld Complex. Meanwhile, Absa is supporting major projects including Pensana’s Longonjo Rare Earth Project in Angola and the Kamoa Copper Mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo alongside Rawbank and Nigeria’s FirstBank.

According to Dorfling, Rawbank’s participation demonstrates how domestic African institutions are building the expertise and balance sheet capacity required to participate in increasingly complex regional mining transactions.

Collectively, these developments reflect a broader evolution in Africa’s mining finance landscape. Rather than relying solely on international development finance institutions and foreign commercial lenders, projects are increasingly being supported through blended financing structures combining domestic banks, regional financial institutions and global investors. This approach diversifies funding sources, strengthens local capital markets and enables African institutions to capture greater value from the continent’s expanding mining industry.

These trends will take center stage at AMW 2026, taking place from October 14–16 in Cape Town under the theme “Mining the Future: Unearthing Africa’s Full Mineral Value Chain.” Bringing together regional financiers, international investors, mining companies and market intelligence firms, the event will explore how African capital can be integrated with global financing to accelerate project development and strengthen the continent’s mining investment ecosystem.

Financial institutions including Absa, Standard Bank, the Industrial Development Corporation, Africa50, the Africa Finance Corporation, Trade and Development Bank, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, World Mining Investment and Aperoin Investment Group will join industry experts such as Moore Global to examine financing models capable of unlocking Africa’s next generation of mining projects.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

Energy

OPEC Secretary General to Address Investors at Libya Energy & Economic Summit (LEES) 2027

Published

on

OPEC Secretary General Al Ghais’ participation at LEES 2027 comes as Libya accelerates production, investment and energy infrastructure expansion

TRIPOLI, Libya, October 22, 2026/APO Group/ –OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais will speak at the Libya Energy & Economic Summit in Tripoli (January 23–25), underscoring the organization’s support for Libya’s next phase of energy growth.

Al Ghais’ participation comes as Libya accelerates efforts to raise production, attract international capital and modernize its upstream sector. The country’s National Oil Corporation (NOC) has laid out ambitious oil production targets in the near term and substantially higher output as investment flows into exploration and field development.

 




 
 

As a leading voice in the global oil community, his participation brings a global market perspective to a summit increasingly focused on execution. OPEC expects oil demand to remain robust, while Al Ghais has repeatedly stressed the need for timely investment to prevent future supply constraints and maintain reliable energy security.

Libya occupies a distinctive position within that outlook because of its substantial resource base and continued production growth. The country holds Africa’s largest proven crude reserves, while its light, sweet crude and proximity to European markets strengthen its strategic investment proposition.

The Ministry of Oil and Gas is driving the policy and diplomatic agenda underpinning this expansion. Under Minister Dr. Khalifa Abdulsadek, Libya is advancing regulatory reforms, international partnerships and investment frameworks designed to support production growth while supporting the country’s role in regional and global energy markets.

The NOC remains the commercial engine of that strategy, converting licensing opportunities into exploration, production and joint-venture activity. Chairman Masoud Suleiman is overseeing an investment drive spanning mature fields, new acreage, infrastructure and international partnerships.

LEES 2027 will provide a direct platform for that strategy to reach global investors. The fifth edition will bring together governments, national oil companies, international operators, financiers and energy service companies to examine upstream opportunities, gas development, infrastructure, power and renewable energy.

The summit has already established itself as a platform for major commercial engagement, with more than $20 billion in energy investments and deals associated with previous editions. With Secretary General Al Ghais joining the Ministry and NOC leadership, LEES 2027 will connect Libya’s investment agenda directly with the global oil market’s most influential institutional forum.

For more information about LEES 2027 visit www.LibyaSummit.com and to sponsor or secure your participation as a delegate, please contact sales@energycapitalpower.com.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

 




 

Continue Reading

Business

African Energy Leaders Call for Action on South-South Oil and Gas Partnerships

Published

on

At AEW 2026, industry representatives from Africa and the Caribbean say joint ventures, enforceable local-content rules and regional financing are needed to turn petroleum resources into domestic industrial growth

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, October 17, 2026/APO Group/ –African and Caribbean energy leaders called for stronger cross-border investment, technology transfer and enforceable local-content requirements to ensure emerging oil and gas producers capture more value from their resources during the session South-South Energy Partnership: Advancing Africa’s Oil and Gas Future in 2026 at African Energy Week (AEW) 2026 in Cape Town.

 




 
 

Ndapwilapo Selma Shimutwikeni, CEO, RichAfrica Consultancy, said partnerships could accelerate skills development.

“From a business perspective, we need to build partnerships that encourage joint ventures between experienced countries and emerging countries like Namibia,” she said. “We need to look beyond just oil production and actually look at the entire value chain.”

Building on Shimutwikeni’s remarks, Gilbert Yevi, Lead Consultant, Grenada Hydrocarbon Technical Working Group, called for partnerships that share risks and benefits rather than simply replace one source of financing with another.

We want cooperation and a collaboration in risk sharing, skill sharing, and sharing in the benefits

“We want cooperation and a collaboration in risk sharing, skill sharing, and sharing in the benefits,” he said.

Yevi also advocated regional training centers to pool expertise and help emerging producers access established industry capabilities.

Expanding on the topic of local content, Eric Williams, Principal Consultant and President, Royal Triangle Energy Solutions, said policies must be linked to a broader national development strategy, using petroleum resources to build domestic industries rather than focusing solely on exports.

“The Trinidad model is about using the molecules to develop the country,” he said, arguing that this vision should shape negotiations with upstream investors and the terms of petroleum contracts.

Omar Farouk Ibrahim, Regional Chair for Africa, World Energy Council, said national sovereignty concerns continued to limit practical regional cooperation, despite public commitments to collaboration.

“The first question they ask is: ‘Will the industry be in my territory?’ If it’s not, why should I? And for as long as we have this mentality, believe me, this cooperation and collaboration we’re talking about will just be theory,” he said.

Across the discussion, speakers emphasized that cooperation must translate into financing, enforceable commitments and local capabilities that endure beyond individual projects.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.

 




 

Continue Reading

Business

Nigeria NOW! opens its project boardrooms to global investors in Abuja

Published

on

With Nigeria’s annual mining revenue up more than tenfold to above N70bn, Nigeria NOW! brings global investors to Abuja on 19 and 20 November, where the Minister of Solid Minerals Development is Chief Host

First and foremost all international investors coming to Abuja should understand that Nigeria is ready and open for business

LONDON, United Kingdom, October 21, 2026/APO Group/ –Platinum group metals, gold, nickel, copper, lithium and rare earth elements lie together in one mineral province in Kaduna State, which the Minister of Solid Minerals Development announced in June as world-class and the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency has verified. The Ministry opens its doors to global investors at Nigeria NOW!, held at the Bola Ahmed Tinubu International Conference Centre in Abuja on 19 and 20 November.

 




  

Processing is following the discoveries, as lithium facilities of $600m in Nasarawa State and $200m near Abuja sit alongside a $400m rare earth processing project in Nasarawa, and mining lease applicants must now submit value-addition plans. Annual mining revenue has risen from about N6bn before the current administration to more than N70bn by the end of 2025.

The routes to export markets are moving too, as the Federal Executive Council has approved deep seaports at Bakassi and Ondo as public-private partnerships, with the Bakassi port alone valued at $2.27bn.

With a month to go, investors and developers travelling to Abuja will meet these projects at close quarters. In investor boardrooms, the Government of Nigeria will review specific projects in depth, from large-scale infrastructure to multilateral programmes such as Mission 300.

Speaking to Energy News Network in September, Tunde Arisekola, Senior Advisor, Geological and Minerals Information at the African Minerals Development Centre, who joins the minerals session on the first day, said that “first and foremost all international investors coming to Abuja should understand that Nigeria is ready and open for business”. In the same interview he described Nigeria’s economy as “stable, safe, peaceful and welcoming to all international investors”.

The programme opens with a welcome from the Chief Host, H.E. Dr Oladele Henry Alake, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, followed by sessions on how the Ministry of Power will drive capacity into Nigeria’s industrial hubs and on the policies opening the minerals sector to foreign investment, including domestic processing and value addition. The second day turns to the pipeline of transport and port infrastructure and the $1bn Domestic Green Bond, and closes with an investors’ clinic on the 2025 Tax Act.

Lagos State Government, a Nigeria NOW! partner, now regulates its own electricity market after NERC transferred oversight to the Lagos State Electricity Regulatory Commission. Hon. Biodun Ogunleye, Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, told Energy News Network that “capital follows bankable cashflows”. The state’s job, he said, is “to create both the infrastructure plan and the commercial architecture that makes that plan financeable”.

On Friday 20 November, YES! Nigeria runs alongside the main programme under the theme “Empowering Today’s Entrepreneurs, Building Tomorrow’s Industrialists”. Abuja University and Philomath University are partners, and the Youth Sustainable Development Network is Community Partner. Its opening session hands the stage to young Nigerians already at work in the sector, among them Damilola Hamid Balogun of YSDN and Emmanuel Terwase of Boost Power.

Nigeria NOW! is held under the patronage of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, with the Lagos State Government, the Nigerian Indigenous Women in Mining & Natural Resources Organisation, Women in Mining, Nextier and The Electricity Hub as partners.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of EnergyNet Ltd..

 




 

Continue Reading

Trending

Exit mobile version