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IHC to up its investment in South African assets: Abu Dhabi-based International Resources Holding (IRH), a subsidiary of the UAE’s International Holding Company, partnered with South Africa’s Public Investment Corporation (PIC) to invest in green energy, rail infrastructure, and mining in South Africa, according to a statement. PIC is Africa’s largest asset manager, holding some USD 169 bn in assets across the mining, agriculture, manufacturing, real estate, and financial services sectors.
The partnership will focus on:
- Bringing undeveloped mining assets to full production capacity;
- Offsetting the energy production capacity of coal-fired thermal plants scheduled to be decommissioned in a bid to reduce greenhouse gas emissions;
- Boosting the country’s export capacity by ironing out bottlenecks across key mining corridors leading to the Richards Bay, Saldanha, and Durban ports;
- Establishing an AI geoscience venture to conduct geological surveys and research to identify new mining prospects.
IN CONTEXT- South Africa’s state-owned logistics company, Transnet, has been facing challenges like equipment shortages and maintenance delays, largely stemming from years of insufficient investment, with severe inefficiencies at the country’s ports.
REFRESHER- IHC is ramping up efforts to secure critical metal supplies from Africa, acquiring a 51% stake in Zambia’s Mopani Copper Mines for USD 1.1 bn in April. Though it withdrew a bid for Vedanta’s 51% stake in Zambia’s Konkola Copper Mines, the company is eyeing EMR Capital’s 80% stake in Zambia’s Lubambe Copper Mine and is in advanced talks to mine nickel in Burundi, along with metals in Tanzania and Kenya. IHC is also focusing on renewable energy in mining, planning to use solar power at iron ore sites in Angola, with USD 1 bn in mining acquisitions expected this year.
