Construction at the US$80-million Epanko project in Tanzania is expected to commence next year. Following mining and processing, Epanko will produce a high-grade graphite concentrate.
The proponent, the Australian company Kibaran Resources, is also looking at a further processing step, to produce graphite suitable for lithium-ion batteries. Because of their use in electric vehicles, such batteries present a strongly-growing market for graphite.
Australia is the largest foreign investor in mining in Africa. Epanko is one of several dozen Australian projects that have progressed beyond an early exploration stage. There are many more at an early stage.
According to one estimate, there are nearly 200 listed Australian companies developing or operating mining projects in Africa (source: Australia-Africa Minerals & Energy Group). Australian mining companies tend to use Australian-based consultants. One result is that engineering work for such projects is often undertaken in Australia. For example, Perth-based consultants involved in Epanko include GR Engineering (feasibility study), ECG Engineering (power), Knight Piesold (hydrology and infrastructure) and IMO (metallurgy). Given the role of engineering consultants in product specification, this provides for Australian suppliers the opportunity to market at home on behalf of sales in Africa.
Note too that, because of the absence in Africa (excluding South Africa) of a substantial manufacturing base, goods and services for mining projects are typically imported. Overall, these considerations make Africa an attractive market for Australian suppliers.
There are two main mining regions in Africa. The first is West Africa, which is dominated by gold. (The few exceptions to this include Guinea, which is also rich in iron ore and bauxite.) The second is southern Africa, whose resource base is more varied. Apart from gold (notably in South Africa), it has significant resources of copper, coal, diamonds, platinum-group metals, manganese, mineral sands, uranium and graphite. There are also some major projects in other parts of Africa, e.g. Kenya, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Sub-Saharan Africa barely grew economically between 1980 and 2000. But between 2000 and 2014, growth was strong. In 2010, the consultancy firm, McKinsey, described African countries as “lions on the move”. Countries standing out included Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Congo (DRC), Tanzania, Namibia and Botswana.
With the resources downturn, growth has slowed in the past two years. Notwithstanding this, sub-Saharan Africa is today in much better shape economically than it was 15 years ago.
Source: www.projectmonitor.com.au