With U.S.-South Africa ties in the deep freeze, it was notable to see the sheer size of the U.S. delegation sent to this week’s Mining Indaba in Cape Town – one of the most prominent industry gatherings and one of the few where the Global South gets a prominent voice.
The Trump administration’s famous Afrophobia seems (momentarily at least) tempered by its greed for minerals. It is reportedly walking ...
Category: Critical Minerals
U.S. Pushes New Critical Minerals Bloc to Counter China
The United States wants to build a new global critical minerals supply chain through a new alliance that aims to stabilize prices and reduce dependence on China. Africa sits at the center of this shift, particularly the Democratic Republic of the ...
Trump Launches $12 Billion Minerals Stockpile to Counter China
By Ernest Scheyder and Jarrett Renshaw U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans on Monday to launch a strategic stockpile of critical minerals backed by $10 billion in seed funding from the U.S. Export-Import Bank. "For ...
Mozambique’s President Opens Chinese-Owned Graphite Processing Plant
Mozambique's President Daniel Chapo opened a 200,000 metric ton per year graphite processing plant at a Chinese-owned mine on Friday, as the south-east African country boosts output of the battery mineral. Annual global mined graphite production is 1.6 million metric tons, ...
Congo Invites U.S. Investors Into Key Mineral Projects, Amid Global Push to Diversify From China
By Ange Kasongo The Democratic Republic of Congo has sent Washington a shortlist of state-owned assets - including manganese, copper-cobalt, gold, and lithium projects - for U.S. investors to consider as part of a minerals partnership, two senior Congolese officials said. ...
EU Says Must ‘Step up’ Against China Rare Earths ‘Racket’
The European Union must ramp up efforts to break its dependence on China for rare earths faced with export curbs that amount to a "racket" by Beijing, the bloc's industry chief Stephane Sejourne said Tuesday. China, the world's top producer of ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
U.S., Australia Sign Rare Earths Deal as Trump Promises Submarines
By Danny Kemp with David Williams in Sydney U.S. President Donald Trump signed a deal on rare earth minerals Monday with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and said Washington's key ally would get its coveted nuclear-powered attack submarines. ...
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. ...