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Canadian miner Lucara Diamond Corporation has concluded a feasibility study that paves the way for the construction of a utility-scale solar PV plant and battery storage energy system to supply power to its Karowe mine.

CFM’s appointment to manage the Southern African Power Pool ’s $1.3bn Regional Transmission Infrastructure Financing Facility could free up a decades-long blockage in the development of cross-border transmission infrastructure. How quickly this happens depends on the success of fundraising efforts in the coming months, and the willingness of utilities and finance ministries to make the RTIFF scheme work.

Solarcentury Africa plans to sell output domestically from its second merchant plant in Namibia, but the 60MWp SolNam solar PV project also supports SCA’s goal of becoming a leading trader in the Southern African Power Pool (Sapp) market.

LSE-listed Aterian is taking a controlling stake in Atlantis Metals, which holds exploration licences in Botswana’s highly prospective Kalahari Copperbelt and Makgadikgadi regions.

Miners have intensified uranium extraction and prospecting in Africa over the past two years as market prices surged after a decade of post-Fukushima lows.

Hong Kong Stock Exchange-listed MMG is to acquire Khoemacau Copper Mining Company for $1.9bn. Khoemacau’s mine in the Kalahari Copper Belt has production capacity of 60,000 t/yr of copper and 1.6m oz/yr of silver metal.

Sekaname Proprietary and state utility Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) have signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) for the development of a pilot Sekaname coal bed methane (CBM) plant. Authorities in Botswana, which has been undertaking CBM prospecting for many years, see the commercial production of gas as a step towards the country transitioning from coal-dependent generation to a new energy mix that include gas, solar and wind.

Australian Stock Exchange (ASX)-listed Botala Energy has spudded the Serowe 3.3 well, the second of four wells being drilled to test for coal bed methane (CBM) at Serowe, in Botswana’s Central District.

Sturdee Energy’s Bobonong and Shakawe solar PV plants have started commercial operations. The plants are among Botswana’s first renewable energy projects

After commissioning the Motheo copper mine, ASX-listed Sandfire Resources is pushing ahead with plans to expand production, which will include adding solar power and battery energy storage capacity.

State-owned enterprises Botswana Railways and South Africa’s Transnet Freight Rail are seeking $230m to develop a 113km rail line between Mmamabula in Botswana and Lephalale in South Africa to transport coal and other commodities.

ASX-listed miners Lotus Resources and A-Cap Energy plan to create a southern Africa-focused uranium player, with a portfolio including the mothballed Kayelekera mine in Malawi and the undeveloped Letlhakane deposit in Botswana

State utility Botswana Power Corporation (BPC) and Indian-owned Jindal Energy Botswana have signed a 30-year power purchase agreement (PPA) to develop a 300MW baseload coal-fired thermal power station at Mmamabula.

Numerous high-level American delegations have visited Africa this year, as Washington seeks to counter Chinese influence around the continent and emphasise its interest in striking mutually beneficial trade and investment deals, but African governments are pushing for better terms of trade and an extension of the soon-to-lapse Agoa trade deal, writes Tonderayi Mukeredzi recently in Gaborone.

Botswana has agreed a revised deal with diamond miner De Beers, giving the state a larger role in trading the gemstones and providing a model that others could follow as they seek greater control over their mineral resources. But with longer-term revenues under pressure from changing consumer habits and synthetic diamonds, the authorities are pushing to develop a more diverse minerals industry, writes Tonderayi Mukeredzi in Gaborone.