VenturesNow

Uganda sets up state-owned corporation to acquire mining stakes

Published

20 hours ago

October 3, 2024

According to Ruth Nankabirwa, Uganda’s energy and mineral development minister, the country has established a state-owned mining firm to oversee the government’s equity holdings in mining operations.

Prior to now, private companies have carried out all mining operations in the East African nation following the acquisition of exploration and mining permits.

The government may compel the acquisition of a 15% free carry interest in all mining enterprises within the nation under a new mining law that was adopted in 2022. This action is a part of larger attempts to increase Uganda’s revenue from its natural resources, emulating other African nations like Tanzania.

“This company will manage the state’s commercial interests in the mining industry. It will do so through strategic partnerships with young developers in the private sector,” Nankabirwa told a mining conference in Kampala on Tuesday.

The administration of President Yoweri Museveni has also been pressuring industry participants to refine minerals and add value locally rather than shipping them unprocessed.

Woodcross Resources, a mining company, established Uganda’s first tin refining plant in April. The company purifies tin ore to a 99.9% purity.

Australia’s Ionic Rare Earths has been granted a licence to mine and process rare earths. In contrast, Chinese-backed Sunbird Resources has been granted permission to mine limestone to produce cement in the northeastern part of Uganda, known as Karamoja.

VenturesNow

TotalEnergies CEO to meet Mozambique president for further project discourse

Published

18 hours ago

October 3, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

To discuss the company’s proposed LNG project in Mozambique with the nation’s new president, CEO Patrick Pouyanne has announced he will travel to Mozambique later this month.

“The project remains profitable, we remain committed,” Pouyanne said at an investor presentation.

The $20 billion Mozambique LNG project has been delayed because of worries about violent upheaval in the area, although Pouyanne claimed there had been “progress on security” recently.

On October 9, Mozambicans will cast their votes in presidential and legislative elections that will almost certainly prolong the fifty-year rule of the ruling Frelimo party, which is fighting a protracted Islamist insurgency in one of the largest gas reserves in Africa.

Pouyanne went on to say that lenders had affirmed between 70% and 80% of a $14 billion finance package that supports the project.

“We are waiting on the green light on financing from three credit agencies, some are in Western countries where rules on gas have changed … as soon as that is in place we will move,” Pouyanne said.

VenturesNow

Tanzania’s central bank maintains 6% lending rate

Published

18 hours ago

October 3, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Tanzania’s central bank announced on Thursday that it had left its benchmark interest rate at 6% unchanged.

The benchmark rate was maintained by the central bank at 6% in the two quarters leading up to September, up from 5.5% when the rate was first published in January.

Agriculture, construction, and manufacturing led real GDP growth to 5.3% in 2023, up from 4.7% in 2022. Private investments drove demand.

Tight monetary policy and food and energy price moderation reduced inflation from 4.3% in 2022 to 3.8% in 2023. Due to foreign cash shortages, the Tanzanian shilling fell 8% in 2023.

Despite mounting pressure on the shilling, consumer inflation has remained comfortably below the bank’s objective of 5%. August saw a rise in inflation from 3.0% year over year to 3.1%, according to information from the statistics office.

In recent weeks, many African countries announced monetary policy decisions. Nigeria raised its benchmark interest rate by an additional 50 basis points, to a new record high of 27.25%, Ghana reduced its benchmark monetary policy rate by 200 points to 27% at a normal meeting. while South Africa decreased its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 8% after holding seven consecutive meetings at a 15-year high of 8.25%.