Category: Mining

Guinea’s Simandou Mine Finally Opens, Could Reshape Global Market

China’s Foreign Ministry announced on Monday that Vice Premier Liu Guozhong will represent President Xi Jinping on a state visit to Sierra Leone and Guinea. The highlight of the visit will be the official opening of the Simandou iron ore mine on 11 November 2025.

China Approves Chile Lithium Alliance, Clearing Major Hurdle

China has given the green light to a major partnership between Chile's state-owned copper giant, Codelco, and lithium company SQM, unlocking plans to ramp up extraction in the Atacama salt flat -- one of the world's top lithium sites. Chile holds ...

China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt Unit to Build 70 MW Solar Plant to Power Lithium Processing in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe-based Prospect Lithium, a unit of Chinese mining giant Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, announced that it will begin construction on a new 70 megawatt off-grid solar facility that will be used to power early-stage lithium processing. The company invested $400 million to build ...

Copper’s Bull Run Faces Reckoning as China Weighs Production Caps

There's been a dramatic turnaround in the price of copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, with the red metal suffering its largest one-day loss in three weeks on Tuesday. What's unusual here is that just last week, prices of the red ...

U.S. Pushes Argentina to Lessen Chinese Influence

The United States is making its $40 billion financial rescue package to Argentina dependent on reducing China’s influence across numerous sectors, as well as giving the U.S. special access to key minerals. A report in the Wall Street Journal detailed extensive behind-the-scenes lobbying from U.S. officials, giving a ...

Analysis from Cobus van Staden

The Pain of Un-Polarity

“THE G2 WILL BE CONVENING SHORTLY!”
This post by U.S. President Donald Trump in the run-up to his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week may end up leaving a more lasting mark than the actual summit he attended.

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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. ...

Shooting at Chinese-Run Mine in Zimbabwe Rekindles Tensions With Local Communities

Tensions between the Chinese business community and local residents in eastern Zimbabwe are boiling in the aftermath of a shooting earlier this month at a Chinese-run mine. The incident took place on October 9th at a mine owned by Zhuhe ...

DRC’s Cobalt Quota Raises Uncertainty for Chinese Producers

The Democratic Republic of Congo’s new cobalt export quotas are set to go live on 16 October. The measure replaces a blanket export ban aimed at increasing global cobalt prices. Before the ban in February, global stockpiles had reached 60,000 tons (enough for three months’ worth ...

China Makes First Move to Challenge Iron Ore Pricing Power. Yet Reality Lags Online Hype

China buys over 70% of the world’s seaborne iron ore—by far the largest share of any country. By simple market logic, the biggest buyer should set the price. Yet for decades, China has had almost no say over pricing, forced instead to accept terms set by foreign ...

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 ...

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 ...
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