November’s COP30 gathering in Belém, Brazil, marks three decades since COP1 in Berlin in 1995, and raises a sobering reminder of how deep we’ve sunk into a climate morass of our own making amid non-stop warnings. The evacuation of millions of people and the deaths of at least seventeen due to Typhoon Ragasa’s rampage through the Philippines, Taiwan, and China couldn’t have been more pointedly timed as U.S. and Chinese ...
Category: Mining
Congo Uses Cobalt Export Limits to Force Processing Deals With Chinese Miners
The Democratic Republic of Congo appears determined to leverage its negotiating power with Chinese and other mining companies to secure major concessions on local cobalt processing. That was the signal sent by Congolese Mines Minister Louis Watum, who said — according ...
Albanese “Concerned” About BHP Iron Ore Halt
Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he is “concerned” about reports that China has halted iron ore orders from the Australian mining giant BHP. Shipments have reportedly been paused amid price disputes between BHP and China Mineral Resources Group, a Chinese state entity overseeing iron ore ...
Chinese Online Outrage Over $80 Billion Zambia River Suit
More than six months after 50,000 liters of toxic water from a Chinese-run mining site spilled into Zambia's Kafue River, there's still no resolution to what's become a massive environmental crisis. The government is siding ...
Beijing Starts Reining In Non-Ferrous Producers, Puts Quality First
China on Sunday announced a two-year plan to tighten control of its non-ferrous metals industry. The policy aims to curb cut-throat competition and shift growth toward higher-value, cleaner production. The plan, issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, ...
$80 Billion Zambian Lawsuit Triggers Outrage on Chinese Social Media
China’s social media has been buzzing after Zambian farmers filed an $80 billion lawsuit against Sino-Metals, a Chinese-owned copper mining company, accusing it of causing an environmental disaster following the collapse of a mining waste dam earlier this year. Beyond the ...
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.
China Deepens Mining Ties in Tajikistan to Secure Critical Minerals
By Bruno Kalouaz In a labyrinth of tunnels running beneath 4,000-meter peaks, Tajik miners are scrabbling to secure antimony, one of the metals at the centre of a worldwide race for rare minerals. The silver ...
China’s Biggest Cobalt Miner Faces a Harsh New Reality in DR Congo
The world’s leading exporter of cobalt, China’s CMOC Group, may turn out to be the biggest loser under the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s new export quota policy, which is set to replace the existing moratorium on cobalt shipments beginning in mid-October.
Beijing’s Golden Gambit: China’s Strategic Push into Central Asian Gold Markets
China’s footprint in Central Asia’s mineral wealth is deepening, with gold emerging as a strategic priority alongside critical minerals. While Beijing’s investments in copper, lithium, and rare earths are widely viewed as essential to sustaining its industrial base, its push ...
Glencore Weighs Sale of One of DRC’s Largest Cobalt Mines, Reviving U.S.–China Rivalry Over Critical Minerals
The Swiss mining giant Glencore is reportedly talking with prospective buyers for its 75% stake in the Kamoto Copper Company (KCC) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, one of the company's flagship assets that is also one of the world's largest producers of cobalt. ...
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. ...
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 ...