Phosphates

A key agricultural input, phosphates are mainly produced and sold in Africa by Morocco's OCP. Numerous other companies have begun producing, transforming and selling phosphates, whether these are public (Compagnie des phosphates de Gafsa, Societe nationale des phosphates du Togo (SNPT) or private, Foskor and soon Kropz and Great Quest Fertilizer.

ZAMBIA Mining 25/02/2021

State miner ZCCM-IH wants legal big bang to boost revenue 

Zambia's state-owned ZCCM-IH has begun lobbying to obtain the regulatory reform it deems necessary to authorise the new revenues it plans to raise by 2026. [...]

MOROCCO Diplomacy 25/02/2021

Biden in, Bourita's Trump-era lobbyists out 

ALGERIA Business 10/02/2021

AfricInvest, DPI and Tell Group keen for a bite of Sobco-Palmary biscuits 

Chocolate and biscuit manufacturer Sobco-Palmary, owned by the Amrani brothers and Reda Turki, wants to sell up to 20% of its share capital to an investor. [...]

SOUTH AFRICA Mining 04/02/2021

Russian PhosAgro plots course for big break into local phosphates market 

The Russian fertiliser giant has opened two warehouses in Cape Town and plans to soon do the same in Durban so it can directly sell its products to South African clients and boost its presence in the country. [...]

MOROCCO Mining 27/01/2021

Turkey's Drillon set to mine Boufakrane potash 

On 8 December, the Turkish drilling company Drillon won a 8.4m-dirham (€770,000) tender from the national hydrocarbons and mines office (ONHYM) to explore for potash in Boufakrane. [...]

TUNISIA Business Mining 21/01/2021

SNCFT's phosphate transport plans hit the buffers 

Issued by the Société nationale des chemins de fer tunisiens, the call for expressions of interest in conducting surveys and devising a call for tenders to renovate 165 km of railway line in the phosphate triangle was declared unsuccessful on 7 January. [...]

---

MOROCCO Business 20/01/2021

Lamalif drops African urban projects, moves into luxury housing in Marrakesh 

Moulay Lakbir Alaoui Ismaili's street lighting and street furniture specialist Lamalif will build four luxury estates in one of Marrakesh's most affluent neighbourhoods. [...]

ZIMBABWE Mining 12/01/2021

Mnangagwa pampers mining explosives champion Intrachem 

Harare's tariff assistance to Zimbabwe's mining explosives leader Intrachem comes as the firm is moving away from being purely an importer to becoming a producer. Its pyrotechnics are a key part of President Mnangagwa's mining revival strategy. [...]

MOROCCO Business Mining 11/01/2021

OCP hires French PR giant Image 7 to show off its green credentials 

Moroccan phosphate giant OCP has retained the PR agency founded by Anne Méaux to promote Vigeo and Sustainalytics' SER ratings in the French media. [...]

DRC Mining 07/01/2021

Managem and Wanbao add sulphuric acid plans to Pumpi copper and cobalt mine 

The royal Moroccan mining company Managem and Chinese group Wanbao have plans to launch a sulphuric acid production line at their Congolese mine Pumpi, where they already extract copper and cobalt. [...]

MOROCCO Business 06/01/2021

Fondation Mohammed VI favours state workers as well as Tracom and HTTC 

The Moroccan king's foundation has awarded more than 110m dirhams (€10m) in contracts to the public works company Tracom. HTTC will for its part develop a social centre in Rabat for 3m dirhams. [...]

MOROCCO Business Investments funds 17/12/2020

Upline and Attijari secretly structure Mohammed VI's investment fund 

Finance Minister Mohamed Benchaâboun has secretly instructed his favourite investment banks, Upline Corporate Finance and Attijari Corporate Finance, to structure the €4bn Mohammed VI Investment Fund which aims to revive Morocco's economy in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. [...]

UNITED STATES MOROCCO Mining 03/12/2020

The US finds against OCP in preliminary "subsidies" report 

In the preliminary findings of its investigation into the potential distortion of the US phosphates market by the subsidies allegedly received by OCP, the Department of Commerce highlights four particularly litigious issues and five it needs to study further before taking a final decision about them. [...]

MOROCCO Business 23/11/2020

Tomato giant Tazi snaps up former agri-exports boss Abir Lemseffer 

One of the agriculture ministry's top civil servants for over a decade, Abir Lemseffer now works for Mohammed Tazi's agri-industrial empire. [...]

SENEGAL Oil & gas 06/11/2020

New oil minister Sophie Gladima is going to get on famously with Macky Sall and his oil and gas commitee 

The Senegalese president has decided to appoint a close associate, who is more of a technician than a politician, to the key oil ministry post. The oil and gas sector is going to be particularly important as the start of production at the Tortue and Sangomar fields approaches. [...]

EGYPT AFRICA Mining 28/10/2020

Evergrow building ties for Cairo to push fertilisers in Africa 

Like its government, which has been trying new tacks to increase its influence on the continent, the Egyptian fertiliser producer Evergrow is developing a growth strategy. [...]

Spotlight MOROCCO UNITED STATES Mining 23/10/2020

OCP determined to keep hold of US market 

With its ability to sell fertiliser in the United States hampered by a federal investigation, phosphate giant OCP is responding to criticism point by point and has hired an army of lobbyists to promote its products to American farmers. [...]

ANGOLA Mining 23/10/2020

Luanda finally places fertiliser order after growing season kicks off 

Even though Angola's growing season is already under way, the government has only now finally decided to launch a public tender for the importation of fertiliser and seeds. [...]

TUNISIA Business 19/10/2020

World Bank consults oracles to prepare 2021-2026 and save "social contract" 

The World Bank has convened former ministers, consultants and economists to take stock of its engagement with Tunisia and lay the foundations for its next five-year country partnership with the north African state. But their alarming diagnosis focuses above all on political stalemate. [...]

Spotlight ANGOLA Mining 16/10/2020

Local fertiliser importers despair as Lourenço procrastinates over tender 

The Luanda government was to organise an international tender to help local blenders secure fertilisers from overseas in order to boost the agricultural sector. After getting off to such a slow start, its seems highly unlikely it will be finalised in the short term. [...]