Mining Investment Keeps Wheels Rolling

Asurge in investments, both in new mining projects and the expansion of existing mines in regions such as the Copperbelt, is sustaining demand for project cargo services. Demand is being driven by the shift away from fossil fuels. Africa is shifting its focus from fossil fuels to critical minerals, driven by global energy transition trends, says Matt Crane, audit partner of BDO in its 2025 mining report. South Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo DRC lead the global production of cobalt and tantalum DRC and PGMs, chromium, manganese and titanium South Africa. Zambias significant copper deposits are expected to sustain ongoing interest in the country. The African Green Minerals Strategy aims to promote the development of critical minerals and address energy deficits, and countries are launching national strategies to support this transition, adds Crane. This will increase demand for the transport of processing plants and equipment. Zimbabwe and Namibia, which have the largest lithium deposits in Africa, are both promoting local processing. Zambia is also looking at increased refining capacity. Zimbabwe is attempting to force the mainly Chinese- owned mines to process lithium ore locally. In June 2023, the Namibian government banned the export of unprocessed crushed lithium ore, cobalt, manganese, graphite and rare earth minerals, according to a statement by the countrys information ministry. There is growing competition for access to the minerals. The European Union is attempting to counter the strategic Chinese dominance in the mining and processing of the critical minerals through its Critical Raw Materials Act CRMA, which lists four African projects. One is the Songwe Hill rare earth mine in Malawi, operated by Mkango Resources. The project is linked to the Pulawy Separation Project in Poland, which will process the rare earth carbonate from Songwe Hill. CRMA listing will help raise the funding needed to establish the mine, and cut through European Union red tape. Permitting for Pulawy could take just 15 months instead of the usual 510 years, reports reveal. South Africas Zandkopsdrift project in the Northern Cape, owned by Frontier Rare Earths, has also been selected by the EU. According to Rare Earths, the mine operation will include a processing plant which will produce 4 000 tons of critical magnet rare earths 17 of the projected EU requirement in 2030, 100 000 tons of battery-grade manganese sulphate and 13 000 tons of other rare earths a year. It is scheduled to go into production in 2028. In Madagascar, Evion Group is working on the Maniry graphite project, supplying between 50 000 and 60 000 tons a year. The fourth is the Kobaloni Energy project in Zambia, which plans to produce 6 000 tons of cobalt sulphate a year. ER