Africa

Babcock has appointed Deon de Kock as Chief Executive for Africa, effective January 2026, bringing more than 30 years of executive experience across the mining, engineering, industrial and energy sectors to one of the continent’s most established engineering and support services businesses. De Kock succeeds Roger O’Callaghan, who led Babcock …

The University of Namibia (Unam) has broken new ground on the African continent, launching the first International Welding Engineer programme in Africa. It is a qualification that sits at the top of the global welding certification system and is uniquely positioned to serve the industrial demands of Namibia’s emerging green …

The end of South Africa’s loadshedding era has not reduced demand for standby power as it has raised the bar for how that power is deployed. Across the African continent, businesses are moving from reactive emergency backup to a more sophisticated, integrated approach to energy resilience and the market is …

Mineral endowment is no longer just a geological statistic but it is increasingly central to the continent’s employment and industrial ambitions in Africa. According to the Compendium of Africa’s Strategic Minerals 2026 released by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), the continent holds an estimated $29.5 trillion in mineral wealth, roughly …

The African Energy Chamber (AEC) will lead a high-level delegation to the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on 22 to 26 February 2026 to deepen bilateral oil and gas ties between Venezuela and Africa. As an honorary member of the African Petroleum Producers Organization, Venezuela has consistently supported Africa in its …

At Mining Indaba 2026, Ecobank Sierra Leone and Sierra Rutile Limited (SRL) unveiled a $40 million financing deal to relocate the Kwale Mineral Sands Processing Plant from Kenya to Sierra Leone, marking a new era of intra-African industrial cooperation. The move, anchored in the Sembehun Project, extends Sierra Rutile’s mine …

CAPE TOWN—Africa’s critical minerals are increasingly viewed as a strategic hedge against global geopolitical volatility. At the 2026 Investing in African Mining Indaba, industry leaders highlighted that the continent is uniquely positioned to benefit from a shift toward a new resource-driven world order. Despite rising nationalism and shifting trade barriers, …

As tariffs rise, borders tighten, aid budgets shrink and nationalism resurges, the global economy appears to be fragmenting. Yet in this moment of uncertainty, Africa’s mining sector may be finding unexpected leverage, positioned at the centre of a new scramble for critical minerals that the world urgently needs. That was …

In the face of tariffs, immigration curbs, reduced development funding and growing nationalism, conventional wisdom suggests Africa faces strong geopolitical headwinds. However, the apparent disorder may have a significant upside for the continent. This emerged from a passionate debate on the main stage on Day 2 of Investing in African …

A powerhouse panel set the tone for Mining Indaba on 9 February 2026, bringing together the Ministers of Mines from South Africa, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, alongside CEOs from leading global mining houses including Ivanhoe, in a high-level discussion that kicked off the week’s agenda with authority …