| Welcome to Next Africa, a twice-weekly newsletter on where the continent stands now — and where it's headed. Sign up here to have it delivered to your email. China's Zijin Mining is setting its sights on producing an eye-popping 1 million tons of copper a year from a project it co-owns with billionaire Robert Friedland's Ivanhoe Mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Zijin — which has copper, gold, zinc and lithium assets scattered around the world — wants to scale up output from the massive Kamoa-Kakula complex from its existing annual target of 600,000 tons, according to Chairman Chen Jinghe. Limited power supplies, high logistics costs and transport bottlenecks are potential constraints, he said in an interview.  Molten copper at a Zijin copper plant. Photographer: Oliver Bunic/Bloomberg The project, which accounted for about 14% of Congo's copper sales last year, has helped the central African nation become the world's second-largest producer of the metal that's key to the green-energy transition. If the planned expansion pans out, the complex would rank among the biggest single sources of copper on the planet. The BHP-run Escondida mine in Chile and Freeport-McMoRan's Grasberg project in Indonesia are currently the biggest operations, producing 1.07 million tons and 750,000 tons respectively in 2023. Zijin began operating the Kamoa-Kakula joint venture a little more than three years ago. It is one of a number of mining companies — including top gold producers Newmont and Barrick Gold — that want to grow their exposure to copper to cash in on an anticipated spike in demand from the electric-vehicle, artificial-intelligence and renewable-energy industries. The Chinese company may have an edge on existing and aspirant rivals, given the potential to ramp up output from Kamoa-Kakula, a cornerstone of its ambitions to be a top-three global copper producer. — William Clowes Key stories and opinion:
Zijin Wants Its Africa Copper Mine to Rival the World's Biggest
Why the World Needs More Copper — a Lot More Copper: QuickTake
Rivers Near Congo Copper and Cobalt Mines are Toxic, Report Says
US Bets on $2.3 Billion African Railway to Deliver EV Revolution
Copper's Boom Story Has Some Truth and Much Hogwash: Javier Blas You can follow Bloomberg's reporting on Africa on WhatsApp. Sign up here. South Africa's state power utility is seeking a jumbo electricity-price hike, which would be good news for its creditors but may set back efforts to grow the country's economy. Eskom has asked the energy regulator to approve a 36% tariff increase for its 2026 financial year, a figure far surpassing the inflation rate. While the move would benefit bondholders by boosting the company's cash flow, consumers and businesses would be negatively affected.  Eskom's Arnot power station in the eastern Mpumalanga province. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg Exxon Mobil is considering investing as much as $10 billion in Nigeria's offshore oil industry over coming years, despite finalizing the sale of shallow-water assets to a local firm, according to Vice President Kashim Shettima. The supermajor is working on developing the deepwater Owo project, he said after meeting Exxon Nigeria Chairman Shane Harris in New York. The company also proposed spending $2.5 billion annually to boost oil output by 50,000 barrels per day over the next few years, he said. Exxon didn't confirm the size or timing of the investment. Cocoa harvests are looking better for the upcoming season, but that may not be enough to bring chocolate costs down much. After poor crops in West Africa fueled huge bean shortages and turmoil across the market this year, focus has turned to how future production will fare. Global output may exceed demand by about 90,000 tons, a survey of analysts and traders shows, partly due to better harvests in top grower Ivory Coast.
 A farmer sorts cocoa beans at a farm in Kwabeng, Ghana. Photographer: Paul Ninson/Bloomberg Kenya is in talks about securing a $1.5 billion loan from Abu Dhabi to help bridge its budget-financing gap, sources say. The loan would carry an interest rate of about 8.2%. If the funding materializes, it will be the latest in a series of packages Abu Dhabi has extended to African countries in recent years as it seeks to build influence on the continent. Senegal's government wants a probe into the previous administration for painting an unrealistic picture of the country's finances. Public debt and the budget deficit were higher than reported during President Macky Sall's last five-year term, according to Economy Minister Abdourahmane Sarr. Sall's party declined to comment. Senegal is facing a widening fiscal deficit and slower economic growth ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for November.  Macky Sall. Photographer: Krisztian Bocsi/Bloomberg The World Bank is working with Uganda to try and restore funding, which it halted in August 2023 after the East African nation passed repressive anti-gay legislation. The law threatens those who engage in same-sex relations with life in jail or even death in some instances. The World Bank and Uganda's government are rolling out measures that seek to ensure members of the LGBTQ community can benefit from projects funded by the lender, a required step for financing to resume. Next Africa Quiz — Which country does US President Joe Biden plan to visit on his first trip to Africa next month? Send your answers to gbell16@bloomberg.net. Data Watch - Nigeria's central bank unexpectedly raised borrowing costs to a record 27.25% to quell inflation, support the naira and attract investment
- Zambia's annual inflation rate rose to its highest level in almost four years in September and the economy grew at its slowest pace since 2021 as an El Niño-induced drought caused crops to wither and drove up food prices
Coming Up - Sept. 30 Mozambique interest-rate decision, Kenya and Uganda inflation for September
- Oct. 1 South Africa manufacturing PMI and vehicle sales for September
- Oct. 2 Nigeria PMI for September
- Oct. 3 Tanzania interest-rate decision, September PMIs for Mozambique, Uganda, South Africa, Kenya, Zambia and Ghana
As his new refinery begins gasoline production in Nigeria, Africa's richest person, Aliko Dangote, spoke exclusively to Bloomberg News. | 
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