Kemcore plans mining chemical plants in Botswana and Angola
Kemcore will build chemical plants in Botswana and Angola to supply regional miners. The 103-million-dollar project aims to reduce reliance on global imports.
Mining chemicals importer Kemcore is planning to establish processing plants in Botswana and Angola to reduce its exposure to geopolitical risks associated with imports from China and the Middle East. This strategic move comes as the United States seeks to challenge Chinese dominance in the critical minerals sector by securing more resilient supply chains across the African continent.
While the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia are global leaders in the production of Copper and cobalt, the region remains heavily reliant on imported chemicals for mineral extraction. This dependence has exposed mining operations to supply chain disruptions, particularly those stemming from geopolitical instability such as the recent conflict in Iran.
Sulfuric acid prices at Tanzania's port of Dar es Salaam are trading at a premium after the war disrupted sulphur shipments, Kemcore founder and commercial officer, Calisto Radithipa told Reuters.
Kemcore's Botswana facility is slated to begin operations by mid-2025, providing essential chemicals like sodium metabisulphite (SMBS) and flotation collectors to producers in the central African copperbelt. The plant's annual output is expected to reach 57,500 tons by 2027, eventually scaling to 250,000 tons by 2032. This volume would represent approximately 25% of Africa's total demand for these processing agents.
The project requires an investment of $103 million, with funding primarily expected from African sources. Kemcore CEO Godfrey Johnson noted that several U.S. agencies have expressed preliminary interest in the project, reflecting Washington's push for localized processing and transparent investment in the sector. No formal commitments have been announced yet.
In Angola, Kemcore is developing a separate facility linked to a rare earths project. This plant will produce 88,000 tons of sulfuric acid and 50,000 tons of caustic lye annually. The company aims to capture a significant portion of the $500 million African metals processing market while lowering costs for regional miners.
Africa cannot keep exporting raw materials while importing the products needed to process them, Johnson said.
By localizing the production of critical chemical inputs, Kemcore intends to bridge the gap between Africa's vast mineral resources and the industrial capacity required to process them. The company believes that the necessary technology and customer base are already present on the continent to support this transition.
