Author: Obert Bore

Obert Bore is CGSP's Critical Minerals Editor who is trained as a lawyer and has been working on the intersection of mining and trade and human rights with a focus on Chinese investments in Africa. Before joining CGSP, he had been leading the Responsible Investments and Business Program at the Zimbabwe Environmental Law Association (ZELA), where he worked on promoting responsible and sustainable investments in Zimbabwe’s mining sector. Before that he was a Chinese Investments Fellow for ZELA where he supported affected communities through legal and non-legal strategies and advocated for the adoption of responsible mining standards. His research interests include the Chinese investments in mining, environmental social and governance standards and business and human rights. He holds a Master of Laws (LLM) degree (cum laude) in International Trade Law from the University of Cape Town and a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree (cum laude) from the University of Venda.

Related Posts

Q & A: The Political Implications of the Sino-Metals Disaster in Zambia

When the Sino-Metals Leach, a Chinese-owned copper processing company, experienced a tailings dam collapse in February in Zambia, the government, through the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment, dismissed reports that 1.5 million cubic meters of acid waste had been released. Officials also claimed that water ...

Zambia’s Lawsuit Against Sino-Metal Sparks Chinese Social Media Storm

International media particularly in the Western countries but also in South Africa and India extensively covered the Sino-Metals Leach tailings disaster that happened back in February, amplifying its impact on lives of Zambian communities and the environment. However, Chinese media maintained a conspicuous silence for ...

Critical Minerals Weekly Digest:  Strategic Shifts and the New Critical Minerals Landscape

This is a free preview of the upcoming Critical Minerals Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in Summer 2025. Introduction This week’s developments signal a turning point in global ...

China Tests Zimbabwe’s Lithium Ambitions With $400 Million Huayou Cobalt Plant

Chinese mining and battery giant Huayou Cobalt is close to completing a $400 million lithium sulphate processing plant in Zimbabwe, the first of its kind on the continent, underscoring its commitment to supporting the country’s efforts to climb the global battery supply chain.

Chinese Copper Miner and Processor Faces Multiple Environmental Lawsuits From Zambian Communities

Lawyers representing communities and civil society groups in Zambia have opened settlement talks with Sino-Metals, a Chinese-owned copper mining and processing company, over one of the country’s worst toxic spills, raising the possibility of an out-of-court resolution in multiple cases that could reshape corporate accountability in Africa. ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

How to Lure Chinese Financing Back to the Global South: Report

Global South countries face increasing financing pressure, endangering their ability to keep developing while also implementing measures to deal with a growing climate crisis. The disruption of global trade is coupled with a larger megatrend: flows of international capital to the developing world have turned negative. This means that countries are now routinely paying more to service loans than they receive in disbursements.

The vast majority of Global South borrowers ...

Chinese Copper Miner and Processor Faces Multiple Environmental Lawsuits From Zambian Communities

Lawyers representing communities and civil society groups in Zambia have opened settlement talks with a Chinese-owned copper mining and processing company, over one of the country’s worst toxic spills, raising the possibility of an out-of-court resolution in multiple cases that could reshape corporate accountability in Africa.

China’s Battery Breakthroughs May Leave Some Developing Countries Behind

Chinese researchers and firms are accelerating the race towards the next generation of battery technologies, and this will undoubtedly reshape the fortunes of countries heavily reliant on cobalt and nickel exports.  Today, most electric vehicles utilize lithium-ion batteries that are made ...

Critical Minerals Weekly Digest: Critical Minerals on the Frontlines: Geopolitics, Investment, and Community Power

This is a free preview of the upcoming Critical Minerals Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in Summer 2025. Introduction This week, the critical minerals landscape was largely shaped ...

Critical Minerals Weekly Digest: U.S. Expands ‘Critical Minerals’ List as Global Race to Bypass China Inten

This is a free preview of the upcoming Critical Minerals Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in Summer 2025. Policy shifts this week widened Washington’s definition of “critical minerals,” as state-owned companies and trading houses stepped up ...

Critical Minerals Weekly Digest: Global Supply Chains Reshaped by Tariffs, Bilateral Deals, and Strategic R&D

This is a free preview of the upcoming Critical Minerals Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in Summer 2025. Global critical mineral markets this week reflected the mounting intersection of geopolitics, industrial policy, and resource nationalism. China ...

In Zimbabwe, China’s EV Mineral Hunt Sparks Both Hope and Unease

When Chinese battery materials giant Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt acquired the Arcadia Lithium Mine for $422 million in 2021, Zimbabwe saw an opportunity to claim its share in the global electric vehicle supply chain table. Located 38 kilometers east of Harare, the project was billed as a ...

Critical Minerals Weekly Digest

This is a free preview of the upcoming Critical Minerals Weekly Digest, part of the new CGSP Intelligence service launching in Summer 2025. This week’s developments underscore a clear shift in the critical minerals landscape, from fragmented exploration to full-spectrum geopolitical ...
Page 1 of 3123