Kemcore plans Africa-based mining chemical plants in bid to cut imports

Africa‑based mining chemicals importer Kemcore is planning to build its own processing plants in Botswana and Angola, aiming for reduced exposure to geopolitical risk attached to imports from China and the Middle East.

Africa is a pivotal supplier of critical minerals and a battleground for the United States and China as Washington races to clip Beijing’s dominance in the sector by securing supply chains. Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia anchor Africa’s copper production, while Congo dominates global cobalt output, placing the central African copperbelt at the heart of the energy‑transition minerals contest.

However, chemical inputs, including sulfuric acid and sodium metabisulphite (SMBS) used to extract those metals, are mostly imported, exposing miners to supply disruptions, including from geopolitical risk, the latest being the war 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 plant will be operating by the middle of next year, feeding copper and cobalt producers in Zambia and Congo, Radithipa said.

The facility will produce SMBS, sodium hydrosulphide and flotation collectors such as xanthates — chemicals used in processing copper and cobalt ores. Output is expected at 57,500 tons annually from 2027, ramping up to about 250,000 tons by 2032 — around 25% of Africa’s demand.

Total project costs stand at $103 million, with much of the funding to be sourced from Africa, Kemcore CEO Godfrey Johnson said, declining to name investors due to confidentiality.

Some US agencies have also expressed early investment interest, Johnson added, as Washington pushes to loosen China’s grip on Africa’s mining sector. No commitments have yet been made, he said declining to identify the firms.

Washington will focus on partnering countries to support transparent investment in their mining sector, including local processing where economical, the US State Department said in response to questions.

Kemcore aims to capture about 25% of the $500 million African metals processing market, Johnson said, with local production expected to significantly lower costs for miners.

The company’s already funded Angola facility, linked to a rare earths project, is also under development. It will produce about 88,000 tons of sulfuric acid and 50,000 tons caustic lye yearly.

“Africa cannot keep exporting raw materials while importing the products needed to process them,” Johnson said. “The technology exists, the customers exist and the raw materials are here.”

(By Maxwell Akalaare Adombila and Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)