The most important developments in sub-Saharan Africa. Six days a week.
South Africa's state utility Eskom launched a search on 14 October for a strategic partner to build the 1.5-gigawatt (GW) Tubatse pumped-storage scheme in Limpopo province. Its four reversible units would store about 21 gigawatt-hours and could run at full output for up to 14 hours, adding more than half to Eskom's existing pumped-storage capacity of about 2.7 GW. Land, environmental approval and water from the De Hoop Dam are secured, and the government ranks the project among its 12 national infrastructure priorities. Large-scale storage would let the grid absorb more solar and wind power and offers private developers one of the country's largest energy contracts. Firms that qualify will be invited to submit full proposals.
Abu Dhabi's International Resources Holding (IRH) and Zambia's state mining investor ZCCM Investments Holdings (ZCCM-IH) reaffirmed their partnership in Mopani Copper Mines on 14 October, with IRH recommitting $1.1 billion in equity, shareholder funding and operational support. IRH bought 51% of Mopani in 2024, and the partners aim to produce 300,000 tonnes of finished copper a year by 2029. The joint statement follows ZCCM-IH's accusation in late September that an IRH unit had failed to meet funding and operating obligations, and its threat of arbitration. The recommitment lowers the risk of a legal fight over one of Zambia's largest mines, a test for the Gulf investors the government is courting to raise copper output.
Senegal's new oil and gas exports have turned a chronic trade deficit into a surplus. The national statistics agency (ANSD) reported on 12 October a surplus of about $273 million in August, up from about $106 million in July, as exports rose 75.7% year on year to about $1.2 billion. Crude oil, gold and refined fuel led sales abroad; for January to August, the country recorded a surplus of about $159 million, against a deficit of about $1.8 billion a year earlier. Higher export earnings support Senegal's foreign-currency position as it seeks a debt restructuring and a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme, and strengthen its hand with creditors.
Lithium has overtaken platinum group metals (PGMs) as Zimbabwe's largest mineral export after gold. Lithium sales reached $2.16 billion in the nine months to September, nearly four times the level a year earlier, against $1.73 billion for PGMs, according to Minerals Marketing Corporation of Zimbabwe figures reported on 8 October. Spodumene concentrate earned $1.8 billion as its price rose 283%, while lithium sulphate from a Chinese-built processing plant added $190 million. The surge strengthens the government's push to process more ore at home and raises the state's foreign-currency income, but it ties export earnings to a metal whose price fell sharply in 2023 and 2024.
São Tomé and Príncipe has run out of petrol and household kerosene after the government again delayed the arrival of a fuel tanker, Finance Minister Gareth Guadalupe said on 14 October. The ship is loading diesel in Lomé and jet fuel and kerosene in Cotonou and is now expected next week. The government has admitted that it lacks the cash to pay for fuel imports, on which the islands depend for most of their electricity and transport. The shortage is bringing much of the economy to a standstill and shows how little foreign currency the state has left, adding pressure on a newly elected parliament without a clear majority.
