Ministry Issues Five Exploration Licences

Jan 25 , 2020


[ssba-buttons]

The Ministry of Mines & Petroleum issued five exploration licenses to four companies last week. Aleta Land Plc, Rose Ethiopia, Agodayo Metals and A-One Marble and Granite are the four companies that have signed an agreement with the Ministry for three years. The companies are expected to explore gold, iron ore and limestone in two regional states. Of these companies, Aleta Land was issued two licenses. The agreement was signed between Samuel Urqato (PhD), minister of Mines & Petroleum, and representatives of the four companies in the presence of officials from the mines and petroleum bureaus of the Southern Nations, Nationalities & Peoples' (SNNPR) and Amhara regional states. The exploration in the Southern region will be undertaken by Aleta Land and Rose Ethiopia, and the exploration activities in the Amhara Regional State will be managed by Agodayo Metals and A-One Marble & Granite companies. The companies have allotted 45 million Br for the exploration, and they are expected to create 57 jobs. The mining sector used to generate more than 600 million dollars from exports. However, the revenues have declined to 170 million dollars in the last fiscal year


Radar

US Renews National Emergency, Sanctions on Ethiopia

The United States has extended the national emergency and sanctions on Ethiopia for another year under the African Growth & Opportunity Act (AGOA). Signed by President Donald J. Trump, the measure was first declared on September 17, 2021, through an executive order citing the conflict in northern region of the country as an "unusual and extraordinary" threat to U.S. national security and foreign policy. The extension, effective until September 17, 2026, keeps in place restrictions targeti...


Radar

Rockefeller Pitches Clean Cooking to Curb School Meal Emissions

A recent study has revealed the staggering environmental toll of school feeding programs. A single school serving 400 students can burn through the equivalent of 56 hectares of forest each year to fuel cooking. The Rockefeller Foundation flagged the health risks too, with most cooks, predominantly women, breathing smoke levels ten times higher than the World Health Organisation's safe limit. "If every school meal transitioned to clean cooking with electricity and solar, the emissions saved wo...


Radar

Sun-Powered Grid Brings Light to Qunbi District

A new 600KW solar mini-grid in East Hararge'sQunbi district has connected 2,200 households to electricity, marking a milestone in the recent rural electrification push. Ethiopian Electric Utility (EEU) laid seven kilometres of medium-voltage and 10 kilometres of low-voltage lines, installing four transformers to reach communities long cut off from power. Customers cover only meter and installation costs before accessing the service. The project is part of the national strategy to expand energ...