Kenya: the battle for Mrima Hill's critical minerals
Kenya is about to award the Mrima Hill rare earth and niobium deposit in Kwale County, with a decision expected within three weeks. Two Chinese companies, Hunan Research Institute for Nonferrous Metals and Jinan Yuxiao Group, have withdrawn from the process for reasons that have not been disclosed.
Five bids were submitted on 21 October: two US consortia, one US-affiliated consortium, an Australian consortium and a Kenyan-British joint venture. They include Meridian Mineral Holdings, which brings together Fluor Corp and Tetra Tech, Frontier Minerals around ReElement Technologies, and the group led by Critical Metals Corp. Mining Minister Hassan Ali Joho says Nairobi is under no foreign pressure.
The country also intends to develop local processing of its resources to capture more value, against a backdrop of rivalry between Washington and Beijing over access to strategic minerals.
5
Bids submitted on 21 October
3
US-linked bidders
2
Chinese companies out of the race
3 wks
Announced timeline for the decision
West Africa: gold is now refined at home
Guinea has inaugurated the Nimba Gold Refinery, the country's first industrial gold refinery, with a capacity of 730 tonnes a year. The aim is to refine 30% of output locally and curb illegal exports.
Mali has presented the results of its reforms: 761 billion CFA francs in arrears recovered, a revised mining code allowing Malian interests to hold up to 35% of project equity, and gold output up more than 30% in the first half of 2026.
Liberia has announced a 30 million dollar plan for a geological survey and the creation of its first gold refinery within two years. In the DRC, investigations have been opened into suspected mining fraud in Lualaba and Haut-Katanga.
730 t/yr
Capacity of the Nimba Gold Refinery, Guinea
CFA761bn
Arrears recovered by Mali
35%
Maximum share of Malian interests in project equity
$30m
Liberian geological survey plan
Maghreb and the Horn of Africa: multi-billion programmes
Morocco is pressing ahead on ports with the inauguration of the East terminal at Nador West Med, whose total capacity is set to reach 5.3 million containers, and the Tanger Med 3 project. The kingdom is also investing in water and irrigation: 9,000 million dirhams to safeguard the Saïss plain and 2.6 billion for the Dakhla desalination plant.
Algeria is committing 27.5 billion dollars to flagship projects, including the Gara Djebilet iron ore deposit and the Algiers-Tamanrasset railway. Ethiopia is seeking 11 billion dollars for its national electrification plan, with universal access targeted for 2035. Burkina Faso has adopted the decree creating Faso Wa-Fulu, a presidential universal electrification programme worth more than 2,800 billion CFA francs.
The Burkinabe programme, priced in CFA francs, and the Moroccan projects, in dirhams, are not shown on this chart.
SourcesLe360TSA AlgérieAllAfrica
Russia strengthens its energy and financial footprint
Russia is offering floating nuclear power plants to Egypt, Tanzania, Togo and Namibia, and is getting involved in several extractive projects: uranium in Namibia and a lithium deposit in Mali.
BCID-AES, the bank of the Confederation of Sahel States, has signed a memorandum with Russia's VEB.RF to co-finance infrastructure and energy projects. Competition is also playing out over corridors: Tanzania and Angola have agreed to link their corridors, from the Indian Ocean to the Atlantic, while rival rail projects are backed by China on one side and Western partners on the other.
4
Countries approached for floating nuclear plants
Uranium
Mining project in Namibia
Lithium
Deposit in Mali
Telecoms and renewables: 5G and private solar move forward
Kenya has rolled out 30,000 km of fibre and Airtel Kenya has acquired 100 MHz of 5G spectrum for 65 million dollars. In Ghana, MTN has completed the purchase of a 5G licence for 202 million dollars. In Congo, operators' quality of service is deteriorating because of the energy crisis.
On the energy side, Benin has secured 30 million euros for its first independent solar power projects, and South Africa is seeing a growing number of private solar parks, such as the one in Springs (25.6 MWp). In Guinea, Fana Soumah returns as Minister of Communication.
SourcesMyJoyOnlineFinancial Afrik
Central and East Africa: corridors and regional cooperation
The Kinshasa-Brazzaville road-rail bridge is moving forward, with Africa50 as lead developer. The DRC has signed contracts to modernise 13 airports. On the Lobito corridor, backed by the United States and the European Union, Italy's Webuild has been selected for a section in Zambia.
In Madagascar, the Toliara-Beira link has been launched, with port twinning studies funded by the African Development Bank. Nigeria has approved 631 billion naira for nine road projects. Finally, the Africa Energy Bank project, a 5 billion dollar institution dedicated to oil and gas financing, has been launched.
13
Airports to be modernised in the DRC
₦631bn
Nigeria, nine road projects
$5bn
Capital of the Africa Energy Bank