2018: Africa’s Brightest Mining Prospects in Decades

Africa, richly endowed with natural resources has relied heavily on mining to a vast extent for its growth and economic development. Several African nations are among the largest suppliers of metals such as copper, platinum, iron ore, uranium, cobalt, etc. to the world. Currently, due to the combined effects of rising commodity prices, reduction of production costs, improved technology, political stability and increased demand of resources from the emerging countries especially China has added value to the growth and development of the African mining sector. These favourable conditions have benefitted several Africa mining nations such as Zambia, Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Cote d’Ivoire, Senegal, etc. who have consequentially become  investment hotspots.

Additionally, this growth in the extractive sector is helping the producing nations to invest in infrastructure that help in the sustainable development of nation’s long-term goals and attract further investment for exploring into untapped deposits in more remote areas. This growing trend is spreading into other sectors as well with banks and other financial institutions investing more into the commodities market.

Zambia: Zambia’s mining sector is expected to boom in 2018 with copper prices soaring and the country expecting to produce more than 1 million tonnes this year. This upswing in the metal prices have also had a positive effect on the revenue of the copperbelt region with market leaders such as Vedanta planning to invest $700 million to boost production from the Konkola Copper Mines to boost production to 400,000 metric tonnes per annum over the next few years. The promising prospects in the mining sector have also led to leading financial institutions such as Stanbic Bank join forces with mining houses to develop the mining sector to its full potential. Mopani copper mine is also likely to hit 175,000 metric tonnes in 2018 due to the $1.5 billion investment. Massive emphasis on investment in the extractive sector have also led to new discoveries in the region with large –scale Cobalt being discovered at the Nyungu copper-cobalt deposit in North-western Zambia.

Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): The growing electric car market have also led to an influx in cobalt prices and it is forecasted that the price will increase tenfold in the next decade. This has made the DRC, the leading producer of cobalt, the new hotspot for cobalt-copper exploration. This has led to the Congolese government has reformed their mining regulations to make more profit from the much coveted metal.

Zimbabwe: The southern region of Africa is seeing immense positive prospects in the mining sector with Zimbabwe signing $4.2 bn platinum deal with a Cypriot investor to develop and transform the mining sector.

Cote d’Ivoire: Cote d’Ivoire is one of the fastest growing economies in Western Africa, with the mining sector being one of the biggest contributors to its success. It is one of the most productive places to mine gold in Africa. A new gold mine, Perseus Mining has also started production in the country from this year. Apart from gold, the country also has rich deposits of manganese, iron ore, nickel and bauxite. The government is taking steps to develop the infrastructure and reforming regulatory frameworks to ensure that the sector continues to grow and contribute to wider social and economic development.

Learn more about mining investment opportunities and upcoming mining projects at: http://ametrade.org/mining-calendar/