Mining

Early works underway on the site. (Image source: Montage)

Montage Gold Corporation has begun construction of the Koné Project in Côte d’Ivoire

Located 350 km northwest of Yamoussoukro, the Koné Project is regarded as one of the highest quality gold projects in Africa due to its sizeable low-cost production and long mine life. According to Montage Gold, the site offers an annual production of +300koz of gold over the first eight years and has an estimated mine life of 16 years.

First gold production is scheduled for Q2 2027 following the groundbreaking ceremony that took place at the site in the presence of government officials and local communities. Progress is now being made to advance and derisk the project with early works underway and major construction activities set to commence when required equipment arrives.

“We are very pleased to announce the commencement of construction at the Koné project in Côte d'Ivoire, marking a significant milestone in our journey to becoming a premier African gold producer and the culmination of this year’s efforts. Our ability to rapidly advance the project is driven by the strong partnerships we have built, based on a win-win approach, with local stakeholders, strategic investors, financiers, suppliers, and contractors,” commented Martino De Ciccio, CEO of Montage.

“We are also grateful for the dedication of our experienced management team, and we thank everyone involved for their commitment. Looking ahead, we are excited to continue unlocking value for all our stakeholders by advancing our construction efforts, while also creating value through exploration and by expanding our focus on social, health, education, and economic programmes for our local communities.”

The engineering, procurement and construction management contract has been awarded to Lycopodium Minerals Pty Ltd, with a number of tasks to be self-performed by Montage’s experienced in-house construction team. Montage, together with Lycopodium, have completed a comprehensive engineering review of Montage’s Updated Feasibility Study which has resulted in the optimisation of several key design parameters to enhance the crushing and milling circuit and improve the efficiency of the overall operation.

A Rokbak RA40 hauler operating in a quarry environment. (Image source: Rokbak)

Since Heavy Machinery Dealership (HMD) introduced the Rokbak brand to Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Benin, Guinea, and Côte d'Ivoire, the impact the RA30 and RA40 haulers have made has only been matched by the availability of attractive financing solutions

It was in June that Rokbak, an articulated hauler manufacturer and member of Volvo Group, partnered with HMD in order to bring its ADTs to customers in the West African countries. In doing so, customers in the region were able to access the RA40 and RA30 haulers, machines with a robust design and enhanced fuel efficiency that are well-equipped to meet the challenging landscape of West Africa.

The haulers have reportedly been making their mark on various sites in the countries but, according to Rokbak, it is just not the machines that are drawing attention. Through UK Export Finance (UKEF), the Swedish Export Credit Agency (EKN) and a network of PRIs, HMD customers also have access to competitive financing packages. These solutions are designed to reduce the financial burden of fleet expansion with affordable interest rates, extended repayment periods and structured payment plans tailored to meet the demands of West African operations.

“I am very excited to offer ECA and PRI backed financing as it is a massive support to us and our customers,” remarked Matthew Khouri, CEO of HMD. “These financing options demonstrate our commitment to not just selling equipment, but truly partnering with our customers to ensure their success and growth.”

Paul Douglas, managing director of Rokbak, added, “The availability of flexible financing opens up new opportunities for customers across West Africa to access dependable Rokbak machines. Together with HMD’s local expertise, we are empowering businesses to take on major projects with the right tools and resources to drive infrastructure and economic development across the region.

“We see enormous potential for Rokbak in West Africa, where infrastructure development and mining activity are accelerating. Our aim is to be more than a supplier, rather a partner committed to establishing a lasting presence in the region.”

The presidents touring the Lobito Port Terminal in Angola. (Image source: US Embassy & Consulates in China)

On a historic visit to Angola, US President Joe Biden announced a direct loan to upgrade and operate the 1,300 km rail line from Lobito port to the town of Luau on the DRC border

Marking the first time an active US President has visited the African nation, President Biden celebrated the relationship between the two countries which “has been transformed from distance to genuine warmth” and that, today, “is the strongest it’s ever been.” Continuing, he remarked how a core goal of his presidency has been to build a strong partnership with peoples and nations across Africa aimed at “achieving shared goals, bringing to bear the dynamism of America’s private sector and the expertise of our government to support aspirations of African entrepreneurs, experts, leaders both inside and outside of government.”

In the two years since the President pledged to deliver US$55bn in new investments in Africa, Biden said that government agencies and members of his cabinet have delivered US$40bn so far, along with nearly 1,200 new business deals being established between African and American companies.

The USA has reportedly invested US$3bn in Angola during President Biden’s tenancy, who noted, “We see the bonds between our countries across sectors, from clean energy to healthcare to sports.”

He added that he and his Angolan counterpart are, “engaged in a major joint project to close the infrastructure gap for the benefit of Angolans, Africans across the continent, Americans and the world. We’ll all benefit… It’s called the Lobito Corridor. We’re building railroad lines from Angola to the Port of Lobito, in Zambia and the DRC, and, ultimately, all the way to the Atlantic — from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean. It’ll be the first trans-continental railroad in Africa and the biggest American rail investment outside of America.”

As such, the US International Development Finance Corporation has announced a direct loan of US$553mn that will support the anchor rail investment of the first phase of the project. This will help the project to expand and protect critical mineral supply chains while increasing rail transport capacity and reducing freight transit times and costs.

This was also joined by further commitments to the country and continent including:

• A commitment to provide up to US$150mn in political risk insurance for new water treatment plants;
• US$40mn loan to help support Africa GreenCo Group’s energy aggregation and trading business;
• US$13mn equity investment to support small and medium-sized businesses in frontier markets;
• US$6mn USAID-supported loan portfolio guaranty for Angolan microcredit company Kixicrédito S.A.;
• US$5mn loan to Community Markets for Conservation Limited in Zambia to expand its food processing business;
• US$3.4mn technical assistance grant to Pensana to help develop a rare earth mine and refining facility in Angola;
• and a US$3.2mn technical assistance grant to Chillerton in support of a green copper mining project in Zambia.

The expansion is also expected to create additional employment opportunities for the local community. (Image source: Multotec)

Multotec, an industry leader in metallurgy and process engineering, has consolidated its injection moulded polyurethane screening media factory sites into a single facility

The company supplies screening media products to mines across southern and West Africa as well as to international markets. In order to fulfil demand and achieve further growth, the company has taken this step that will – according to Rhodes Nelson, senior vice president of product management at Multotec – achieve a 15% reduction in unnecessary activity. The facility is situated on 7,068 sq m property close to Multotec’s current Forge Road main campus in Spartan Kempton Park, will largely operate under a ‘make to order’ environment, and represents a R100mn investment from the company.

Its expansion has also included the addition of two new machines to the current range of PU injection moulding machines that are expected to boost production capacity by 25%. The company has also reported that the new facility is designed with a view to digitising a large part of the workflow in future and has additional space to accommodate more machinery in the future.

“Ultimately, we want to enhance digitalisation within all our factories. This will provide a better understanding of our processes, more accurate reporting, and quicker reporting on where things are within the whole workflow across the business,” remarked Ian Chapman, engineering manager at Multotec.