(Alliance News) - Aterian PLC on Thursday said it has been granted a mineral exploration licence for the Musasa region in Rwanda, and also announced a temporary suspension of activities at its Kigali site.

The Africa-focused mining company said its 85% owned subsidiary, Musasa Mining Ltd, holds the exploration licence, which was granted by the Rwanda Mines, Petroleum and Gas board. The licence covers a four-year period and involves an area of 350 hectares in the Rutsiro district of the Western province.

In addition to this, Kuaka Cooperative, the partner holding the remaining 15% of Musasa Mining, has agreed to transfer its holding to a 100% owned subsidiary of Aterian. In exchange, it will receive past consideration provided by Aterian, including water reticulation assets for Kuaka's small-scale processing facility.

Aterian also announced on Thursday that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Eastinco Ltd, has temporarily suspended all secondary trading activities at its operations in Kigali, following "significant issues" with the rollout of the new online mineral traceability platform, Inkomane System.

"The implementation and enrolment of mining companies and mineral traders to the system has been very slow, resulting in very restricted trading activity over the past few weeks across the entire market", Aterian explained. "Presently, only participants registered on the new system can apply for mineral tags, which are required for trading and mineral exports traceability. Given the substantial reduction in mineral trading market participants and activity, Eastinco has suspended operations until normal market conditions can be re-established."

Shares in Aterian were down 6.5% at 50.00 pence each in London on Thursday morning. By Emily Parsons, Alliance News 

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigration Badr Abdelatty discussed in a phone call with his Ugandan counterpart Jeje Odongo means to boost bilateral ties and a number of regional and African issues. 

In the call, Abdelatty expressed Egypt’s keenness on promoting bilateral ties between Egypt and Uganda in the different political, economic and developmental fields, Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Tamim Khallaf said on Thursday.

In the call, the two ministers exchanged points of view on a number of issues of mutual interest in light of the challenges facing the African continent and the pivotal role of both countries to support peace, security and stability in the continent. MENA

By MIKE OMUODO

The African Trade & Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI), and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), part of World Bank Group Guarantees, have signed a three-year partnership to accelerate foreign direct investment across Africa. This is the second agreement between the two organizations aimed at maximising development impact. 

The organizations will collaborate by leveraging ATIDI's expertise in insurance and guarantee products across the African continent and MIGA's range of guarantee solutions and guarantee expertise through the World Bank Group guarantee platform. The partnership will also seek to improve efficiency in joint project due diligence, maximising cost savings and eliminating duplication.

 Quote from Manuel Moses, CEO, ATIDI

"Enabling more investment to finance transformational projects is vital to Africa's sustained development. MIGA and ATIDI's de-risking solutions are essential to achieve this crucial agenda. Beyond signing of this agreement, we look forward to a dynamic collaboration with MIGA, to leverage our institutions' respective assets for the benefit of our continent." 

The agreement framework emphasizes mutual reliance, accountability, and comparability. Each party will regularly share operating standards and procedures to help identify comparable outcomes to further both organizations' development mandates. 

Quote from Hiroshi Matano, MIGA Executive Vice President

"Our partnership with ATIDI will enable us to support countries in Africa in scaling and replicating development projects, thereby accelerating prosperity. This agreement will play a significant role in helping the continent attract foreign investment for key development projects."   

Both organizations have agreed to set up mechanisms to measure progress and results, including reports on joint projects, new products, capital mobilized, and reduced project processing times. Moreover, both parties will carry out joint marketing efforts, training, and seminars to strengthen cooperation and explore new investment opportunities in Africa. 

The strategic agreement framework underscores the commitment of MIGA and ATIDI to create a world free of poverty on a liveable planet. The two organizations aim to mitigate investment risks by pooling resources, thereby accelerating sustainable economic growth in Africa.

ATIDI was founded in 2001 by African States to cover trade and investment risks of companies doing business in Africa. ATIDI predominantly provides Political Risk, Credit Insurance and Surety Insurance. Since inception, ATIDI has supported USD85 billion worth of investments and cross border trade into Africa. For over a decade, ATIDI has maintained an 'A/Stable' rating for Financial Strength and Counterparty Credit by Standard & Poor's, and in 2019, ATIDI obtained an A3/Stable rating from Moody's, which has now been upgraded to A2/Positive.