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British firm, Moxico Resources to invest $100 million in Zambia mine expansion

Published

3 years ago

April 7, 2022

The United Kingdom Minister for Africa, Vicky Ford, on Wednesday revealed that UK based firm, Britain’s Moxico Resources plans to invest $100 million to expand its majority-owned Mimbula copper mine in Zambia.

Ford made the revelation visit to Zambia to launch a new investment model, which she said marked a key moment for Britain’s financing of private sector growth and infrastructure across Africa.

“We are committed to support countries that grow their own economies, bolster private sector investment and trade, and deliver the returns that will support wider socioeconomic development,” Ford said.

Zambia’s official data source announced in March that the Copper production of the country dropped to 800,696 tonnes in 2021 from 837,996 tonnes the year before. The report also shows that Zambia’s cobalt production also dropped to 247 tonnes last year from 316 tonnes a year earlier.

Moxico Resources plc is a private operating, development, and exploration mining company incorporated in the UK. The Company has a prospective portfolio of scalable copper, cobalt, and zinc projects located in Zambia in South-Central Africa. The company holds an 85% ownership in the license holding company and 15% is held by Moxico’s Zambian partners. The mining license was granted in May 2017, with a validity of 25 years.

The Mimbula Copper Project is located in Zambia’s copper belt on the outskirts of Chingola town, more than 400km northwest of Lusaka is expected to create new jobs and increased tax revenues for Zambia’s government.

Related Topics:Featured Mining Moxico Resources Zambia

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IMF, Egypt reach agreement for fourth review of Egypt’s $1.2 billion loan request

Published

2 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have reached a staff-level agreement over the fourth review of the Extended Fund Facility arrangement, which might lead to a $1.2 billion payout under the program.

In March, Egypt, struggling with rising inflation and cash shortages, consented to the $8 billion, 46-month facility. Its economic problems were made worse by a precipitous drop in Suez Canal revenue over the last year due to regional tensions.

Over the next two years, Egypt’s government has committed to raising its tax-to-revenue ratio by 2% of GDP, according to the IMF, emphasising removing exemptions rather than raising taxes.

According to a statement from the IMF, this would allow it to expand social expenditure to support vulnerable populations.

“While the authorities’ plans to streamline and simplify the tax system are commendable, further reforms will be needed to enhance domestic revenue mobilization efforts,” the statement said.

According to the IMF statement, Egypt had also committed to maintaining its commitment to a flexible currency rate and to taking more urgent action to guarantee that the private sector became the primary driver of development.

The IMF’s executive board still has to accept the fourth review’s staff-level agreement.

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Libya’s eastern govt accepts petrol subsidy elimination

Published

2 hours ago

December 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

In a recent statement, the eastern government of Libya claimed it had reached a consensus on a plan to eliminate gasoline subsidies and would draft a mechanism to carry out the accord.

Additional information on the idea was not released by the administration led by Osama Hamad, a challenger to the internationally acknowledged Tripoli-based government.

However, it is uncertain if Hamad’s government would be able to carry out the plan in the divided nation.

According to the Global Petrol Prices online tracker, a litre of gasoline costs just 0.150 Libyan dinars ($0.03) in OPEC member Libya, making it the second-cheapest in the world.

Following an uprising against former ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, smuggling networks have thrived in the ensuing political unrest and armed fighting. In 2014, conflicting eastern and western governments separated the nation.

A World Bank analysis estimates that the annual value of fuel smuggling from Libya is at least $5 billion.

In a meeting with Mari Barrasi, the deputy governor of the Central Bank of Libya (CBL), located in Tripoli, and four members of the bank’s board of directors, Hamad in Benghazi supported the idea of removing subsidies.

The CBL’s Benghazi branch offices served as the venue for the conference.

The eastern parliament appointed Hamad in 2023 to succeed Abdulhamid Dbeibah, who had been put in position in 2021 under a U.N.-backed procedure that the parliament said had lost its legitimacy.

Dbeibah, who is located in Tripoli, stated in January that he will conduct a public poll on the topic of eliminating gasoline subsidies, but he hasn’t done anything about it since.

According to CBL figures, gasoline subsidies cost 12.8 billion Libyan dinars between January and November of this year. 4.8 Libyan dinars to $1 is the official exchange rate.