{"id":22905,"date":"2026-01-26T13:03:57","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T11:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jhb-webdevelopers\/channelafrica\/news\/mali-takes-51-stake-in-china-backed-local-explosives-venture\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T16:33:49","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T14:33:49","slug":"mali-takes-51-stake-in-china-backed-local-explosives-venture","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/news\/mali-takes-51-stake-in-china-backed-local-explosives-venture\/","title":{"rendered":"Mali takes 51% stake in China-backed local explosives venture"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">Mali has taken a 51% stake in a new industrial\u2011explosives venture with China\u2019s Auxin Chemical Technology, its Council of Ministers said, tightening state control over critical mining inputs and extending Beijing\u2019s industrial expansion in the Sahel region.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, which have all experienced recent military coups, are pivoting towards China and Russia, unsettling Western investors as their governments push ahead with new gold\u2011refining, security, opens new tab and uranium deals part of a broader Sahel realignment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">Mali&#8217;s 2023 mining code raised state equity in mining projects and strengthened local\u2011content requirements, part of sweeping reforms to extract more income from the sector.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">Auxin Chemical Technology, a subsidiary of China\u2019s NORINCO Group, already supplies industrial explosives to six countries in Africa\u2019s rapidly expanding mining sector, according to its project listings.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">The Malian subsidiary, FARATCHI\u2011CO SA, first announced in 2024, will produce civil\u2011use explosives for Mali\u2019s gold, lithium and quarrying operations, according to the statement read on state television late on Friday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">The majority state ownership aims to &#8220;strengthen the management of civil\u2011use explosives, promote the development of a local industry, enhance oversight, and ensure security\u201d, it said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">Auxin will hold the remaining 49% and provide financing and technical expertise for the plant, expected to be built within 12 months. The government did not state the cost of the plant.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">Mali, one of Africa\u2019s top gold producers, hosts about 30 industrial gold operations including 15 large mines alongside two major lithium mines and numerous quarrying sites, according to the Mines Ministry.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">Challenges including government reforms and insecurity helped to prompt a 23% fall in gold output last year.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p class=\"x_MsoNormal\">&#8211;Reuters&#8211;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":22824,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-22905","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Mali's 2023 mining code raised state equity in mining projects and strengthened local\u2011content requirements.","published_date":null,"news_description":"Mali's 2023 mining code raised state equity in mining projects and strengthened local\u2011content requirements.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/22905","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/22905\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26046,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/22905\/revisions\/26046"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22824"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22905"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=22905"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}