CAPE TOWN, South Africa, February 24, 2025/APO Group/ –International mining stakeholders are increasing their access to Africa’s mineral resources through joint ventures, acquisitions and stakes in local projects. Meanwhile, African countries and operators are leveraging these partnerships to enhance capital, accelerate project development and meet ambitious production targets.

The upcoming African Mining Week (AMW), taking place in Cape Town this October, will spotlight mergers and acquisitions (M&A), offering African projects a platform to showcase opportunities and providing global investors the stage to present growth strategies for Africa’s expanding mining sector.

Recent research by the Economist Intelligence Unit indicates that foreign investment in Africa’s mining industry is poised for significant growth in 2025, building on strong momentum established in 2024. Several key transactions highlight this trend. Earlier this month, UK-based Altona Rare Earths finalized its acquisition of an 85% stake in Botswana’s Sesana Copper-Silver Project from Ignate Minerals, committing significant capital to accelerate exploration and mine development. In December 2024, Australian mining firm Patriot Lithium acquired a 90% stake in Zambia’s Kitumba Copper Large Scale Exploration License from Newlight Nominees Zambia, enabling increased funding for exploration and production activities. Similarly, in October 2024, Jubilee Metals, a UK-based company, acquired Project G, its second open-pit copper asset in Zambia, as part of a strategy to boost investments and raise copper output to 25,000 tons per year.

Recent M&A activity in Africa’s mining sector is reshaping the industry, improving operational efficiencies and creating new pathways for innovation and technology transfer. For African nations, these investments bring new opportunities for job creation, infrastructure development and access to global markets, fueling economic growth. Additionally, the influx of foreign capital and expertise enhances local capabilities, enabling African countries to harness their natural resources more effectively while addressing challenges like underdeveloped supply chains and limited financing for exploration.

In South Africa, M&A activity reached $10 billion between June 2023 and 2024, with 32 deals closed, compared to 24 year-on-year, according to PwC. Among the notable deals, Kenya’s Marula Mining secured a 51% stake in South Africa’s Mansera Kruisrivier Cobalt Holding Company in July 2024, funding feasibility and aerial studies to advance the project. Meanwhile, China’s Baowu Steel Group acquired stakes in Guinea’s Simandou Project, the world’s largest untapped iron ore deposit, in June 2024. In Mali, Ganfeng Lithium secured an operational stake in the Goulamina Lithium Mine in a $342.7-million deal with Australia’s Leo Lithium in May 2024. The UAE-based International Resource Holdings also entered the market, acquiring Zambia’s Mopani Copper Mines for $1.1 billion in May 2024, enhancing exploration and production capabilities at one of the country’s largest copper facilities.

As African nations focus on boosting mineral production to drive economic growth, M&A activity is expected to intensify, with global partners seeking greater stakes in the continent’s abundant resources. Against this backdrop, the upcoming AMW will play a crucial role in shaping Africa’s M&A landscape by facilitating project showcases, fostering partnerships and advancing deal signings that will define the future of the mining sector.

African Mining Week serves as a premier platform for exploring the full spectrum of mining opportunities across Africa. The event is held alongside the African Energy Week: Invest in African Energy 2025 conference (https://AECWeek.com/) from October 1 -3. in Cape Town. Sponsors, exhibitors and delegates can learn more by contacting sales@energycapitalpower.com

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, February 24, 2025/APO Group/ –The African Energy Chamber (AEC) (https://EnergyChamber.org/) – the voice of the African energy sector – hosted its Invest in African Energies investor breakfast in Geneva on Friday. The event attracted a significant number of European investors, financiers and commodity traders, underscoring Geneva’s pivotal role as a global hub for commodity trading.

The event kicked off with technical presentations by industry experts from S&P Global Commodity Insights, focusing on commodity trading, downstream activities and crude oil trading in West Africa. With crude lifts from the Dangote refinery ramping up in 2025, Nigeria is set to become a net exporter of gasoline for the first time. Meanwhile, a wave of refinery rationalizations is on the global horizon, particularly in North America and Europe, with over 3 million barrels per day of refining capacity expected to shut down by 2030.

“In this context, Africa is becoming a very interesting market and a battleground for different regions targeting it as an export market,” said Tanya Stepanova, Associate Director, Commodity Insights at S&P Global, adding that several Middle Eastern NOCs are acquiring retail and refining assets – seeking to solidify or establish their presence on the continent.

The ramp-up of the Dangote refinery has reduced Nigeria’s reliance on European imports, while also supplying jet fuel to Saudi Aramco and naphtha to Asian markets and the Lomé hub off Togo’s coast, according to Matthew Tracey-Cook, Senior Price Reporter at S&P Global. Nigeria is also witnessing several other refinery developments, including the approval of a new 10,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Delta State, the resumption of operations at the Warri refinery, the planned restart of the Port Harcourt refinery and ongoing discussions to build a private refinery.

Turning to South Africa – sub-Saharan Africa’s largest and most mature market – product growth has been slower. With refineries closing, the country faces critical decisions about the future of its fuel supply, balancing trader dominance with potential Middle Eastern influence, as middle eastern NOCs are reportedly considering the acquisition of Shell South Africa’s downstream assets.

“In the long term, South Africa has ambitions to revive its refining industry. For South Africa, it’s not just a matter of refining economics — there is a strong agenda for security of supply,” said Stepanova. “The question becomes: will it become a trader-dominated market, or will we see Middle Eastern influence? This is one of the issues to watch in 2025.”

Regarding Africa’s LNG prospects, the continent faces a competitive landscape as new LNG supplies from the U.S. target European markets. Emerging markets like Mozambique could see ExxonMobil reach a Final Investment Decision (FID) on its Rovuma LNG project by 2026, while anticipated developments in TotalEnergies’ Mozambique LNG project reflect upwards of $10 billion in investments.

“For LNG, the demand is certainly there, but these projects need long-term commitments, particularly from offtakers, to happen. When we look at Mozambique, ExxonMobil just said that it’s a key part of their global portfolio and they are looking at FID in 2026,” said Verner Ayukegba, Senior Vice President, AEC, adding, “The only way to drive development in Africa is through trade and investment.”

Regarding financing upstream investments, the event highlighted a recent easing of banking sector constraints following the exit of many international banks from fossil fuel financing. However, new upstream exploration continues to attract primarily major players with substantial balance sheets, though traders are playing an increasingly significant role.

“When it comes to infill drilling, sometimes the traders come in and are able to finance off the back of an existing resource base. Traders have become bigger financial players, especially when you are looking to keep production at the same level. This is what we see likely to happen in the next two to four years,” said Ayukegba.

The investor breakfast serves as a precursor to the upcoming African Energy Week (AEW): Invest in African Energies conference, scheduled from September 29 to October 3 in Cape Town, South Africa. AEW 2025 aims to position Africa as a global energy champion, focusing on strategic investments and transformative deals to shape the continent’s energy future. Building on the success of previous editions, AEW continues to be the premier platform for deal-making, energy partnerships, and capital investment in Africa’s energy sector.

AEW: Invest in African Energy is the platform of choice for project operators, financiers, technology providers and government, and has emerged as the official place to sign deals in African energy. Visit www.AECWeek.com for more information about this exciting event.

PRETORIA, South Africa, February 24, 2025/APO Group/ –SolarAfrica (https://SolarAfrica.com/) is proud to take another major step forward in the development of its flagship utility-scale solar project, SunCentral, by successfully reaching financial close on the first 114 MW component of the project alongside funding partners Investec and RMB. The R1.8 billion investment into SunCentral marks the start of the project’s rollout in South Africa.

SunCentral is a large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) plant located between Hanover and De Aar in South Africa’s Northern Cape province. The project will be developed in three phases.

Phase 1, consisting of 342 MW, will be delivered through a staged roll-out of three 114 MW facilities and will deliver renewable energy to a diverse range of off-takers by wheeling it through South Africa’s power grid. Phase 2 and 3 will increase SunCentral’s capacity to 1 GW.

Unlike similarly sized projects that offer wheeling on a one-to-one basis (with one generation plant supplying one off-taker), SolarAfrica’s project will offer wheeling on a one-to-many basis, making it available to a wider pool of businesses in South Africa.

SolarAfrica’s Chief Investment Officer Charl Alheit, who spearheaded the financial close, explains: “Reaching financial close on the first 114 MW of our utility-scale wheeling development and Main Transmission Substation (MTS) investment marks a significant milestone in our commitment to advancing sustainable energy solutions for our customers in the commercial and industrial sectors.”

He adds that the substantial size of SunCentral will unlock access to cheaper, greener power for even more businesses across the country. “We are excited to see this project move forward as we continue contributing to the energy transition while delivering long-term value to our customers.”

SolarAfrica is part of the greater Starsight Energy Africa Group. The success of SunCentral will act as a blueprint for similar (and possibly smaller) off-site generation projects in other key African markets in which the Starsight Energy Africa Group companies operate.

“The construction of SolarAfrica’s SunCentral is a critical step in our journey to expand clean energy adoption across Sub-Saharan Africa, says Paul van Zijl, Group CEO of Starsight Energy Africa Group. “We are excited to move this project forward and continue delivering long-term value to our customers,” he says.

SolarAfrica is backed by world-class investors African Infrastructure Investment Managers (AIIM) and Helios Investment Partners who both hold decades-long track records of bringing investment to support African innovation.

“Reaching Financial Close on the first 114 MW on SunCentral is a fantastic milestone for SolarAfrica, says Thor Corry, Investment Director at AIIM.

“The modular approach to construct the MTS and plug in subsequent 114 MW modules provides a superb platform for SolarAfrica to scale at pace to meet the needs of the C&I customers in South Africa who want to secure price certainty and cost efficiencies while furthering South Africa’s Just Energy Transition. With South Africa requiring up to 30 GW of new capacity by 2030 to meet its climate commitments and energy needs, projects like this are crucial,” Corry concludes.