VenturesNow

Zambia’s Chambishi copper smelter cuts operations amid power cuts— Sources

Published

2 months ago

March 11, 2024

Sources quoted by Reuters say that the Chambishi Copper Smelter, owned by China Nonferrous Metal Mining Corp. in Zambia, has reduced one-fifth of its production as a result of the nation’s power outages.

As the second-largest copper producer in Africa, the factory produces over 250,000 metric tonnes of copper annually, making it one of the largest processing plants in the continent.

About 87% of Zambia’s electricity comes from hydropower, and the country’s current drought—the worst in 20 years—has reduced water levels, which has reduced power generation, according to the managing director of state-owned power company Zesco.

Zesco announced last week that it would begin limiting power supply on March 11. But as of last week, according to the sources, Chambishi has already lowered capacity.

Email inquiries regarding the subject received no quick response from CNMC. According to the sources, the corporation is currently thinking about installing diesel generators at the plant to help lessen the effects of power outages.

The absence of fresh investment in some operations, such as Konkola Copper Mines and Mopani Copper Mines, has resulted in a slow drop in Zambia’s copper production, which coincides with the power crisis.

Zambia Chamber of Mines statistics show that output of the metal fell to approximately 698,000 tonnes in 2023 from 763,000 tonnes the previous year.

Although it’s still too early to determine the full impact on production, some of Zambia’s smaller manufacturers might also be impacted by the power outages, according to the sources.

Managing director Victor Mapani told journalists in Lusaka last week that the utility planned to meet with mining companies on March 14 to explore methods it could “claw back” roughly 250 megawatts, or 20–25% of supplies.

According to Mapani, the Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) has lowered the amount of water it provides to Zambia and Zimbabwe in order to generate electricity. Previously, the allocation was 30 billion cubic litres in 2023 and 40 billion in 2022.

VenturesNow

World Bank grants Malawi $57.6 million for food crisis

Published

7 hours ago

April 27, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

As a response to its food crisis, the World Bank said on Friday that it would give Malawi $57.6 million in “quick release” grants.

“This support comes in the context of the severe food crisis the country is suffering due to El Niño conditions in the wider southern Africa region,” the World Bank said in a statement.

“A series of intense disaster events over the last few years has left almost no time for the country to recover and has resulted in a severe erosion of food security at the national level.”

Malawi is one of the least developed countries in the world. It is ranked 170 out of 187 countries in the 2010 Human Development Index. Almost 16 million people live there, and 90% of them make less than $2 a day. That’s 53% of the total population.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) says that 46,000 children in Malawi are seriously malnourished. In 2023, UNICEF said that more than 500,000 Malawian children were at risk of not getting enough food.

Now, Malawi has a lot of programs in place to deal with things like poverty, and climate change, and to make the business and agriculture more diverse.

VenturesNow

Nigerian oil regulator implements regional fuel standards

Published

2 days ago

April 26, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s oil authority has clarified that the recent changes to diesel fuel sulphur content standards are part of a regional effort to make things more uniform and are not meant to loosen rules for local refineries.

A report from S&P Global last week said that the West African fuel market had changed a lot after Nigeria raised the maximum diesel sulphur content from 200 parts per million (ppm) to around 650 ppm. This caused worries that the country might be lowering its standards to allow diesel made in Nigeria that is higher than the 200 ppm limit.

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), on the other hand, said it was only following a 2020 decision by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) that all of the regions had to slowly switch to better fuels.

Fuels that have a lot of sulfur can hurt engines and make the air dirty. As of right now, the ECOWAS rule lets locally-made fuel have more sulfur until January 2025. After that, a standard of less than 5 parts per million will be used for all oil, whether it is refined in West Africa or brought in from another country.

Farouk Ahmed, the head of the NMDPRA, told Reuters that the new limits are in line with ECOWAS’s choice to require stricter fuel specifications. The new rules will go into effect in January 2021 for non-ECOWAS imports and January 2025 for ECOWAS refineries.

“We are merely implementing the ECOWAS decision adopted in 2020,” Ahmed said.

“So a local refinery with a 650 ppm sulphur in its product is permissible and safe under the ECOWAS rule until January next year where a uniform standard would apply to both the locally refined and imported products outside West Africa”, Ahmed said.

Ahmed said that importers were told that the amount of sulphur allowed was going down, from 300 parts per million in February to 200 parts per million this month. This was done long before the huge Dangote refinery started providing diesel.

Diesel with a sulphur level of between 1,500 ppm and 3,000 ppm could be brought in by importers before.

The switch to cleaner fuels is in line with efforts to protect the environment around the world and makes sure that all area refiners have the same chances.

Nigeria recently had its worst blackout in decades because of a problem with its energy supply. The high cost of alternative energy sources has been a huge problem for both businesses and individuals, with the price of diesel being the most affordable choice for businesses.