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: Mining
Looking Beyond “Useful Africa” at the Mining Indaba
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 ...
Analysis from Cobus van Staden
China Slowdown Hits Rio Tinto Earnings Despite Revenue Gains
Mining giant Rio Tinto's net profit fell in 2025 as costs climbed and it took a hit from a slump in the Chinese economy, company results showed Thursday. The British-Australian firm said the results "demonstrate clear progress as we embed our ...
Congo Offers Tantalum Deposit Under M23 Control to U.S. in Minerals Pact, Document Shows
By Ange Kasongo and Maxwell Akalaare Adombila The Democratic Republic of Congo added the rebel-held Rubaya coltan mine, one of the world's richest tantalum deposits, to a shortlist of strategic assets it is offering to the U.S. under a ...
Contract Worker Dies at Rio Tinto’s Simandou Iron Ore Mine in Guinea
A contract worker died following an incident at Rio Tinto's SimFer mine at the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, the world's largest producer of iron ore said late on Sunday, without providing further details. The miner said work had been suspended ...
Can Africa Win as the West and China Scramble for Minerals?
By Clyde Russell Two multi-billion-dollar rail projects in Africa. One headed west, the other east. One backed by Western countries, the other by China. Both are aiming to ship vast quantities of critical minerals. Welcome to the new scramble for Africa. ...
Nickel Gains After Indonesia Cuts Quota for World’s Biggest Nickel Mine
Nickel climbed on Thursday, after Indonesia sharply cut this year's mining quota for PT Weda Bay Nickel, the world's biggest mine for the critical mineral. The most-active nickel contract on the Shanghai Futures Exchange SNIcv1 climbed 2.49% to 140,570 yuan ($20,366.86) a metric ton as of 0250 GMT. The Shanghai contract surged ...
Congo Says It Would Seek Other Partners if U.S. Minerals Framework Fails
The Democratic Republic of Congo will look for other partners if its minerals cooperation framework with the U.S. does not lead to concrete projects, the country's mines minister said. "Everything we have done with America is a framework under which we will discuss ...
China’s Zijin to Launch Congo’s First Lithium Output in June From Disputed Manono Deposit
China’s Zijin Mining will initiate Congo’s first lithium output in June from the disputed Manono deposit and move immediately to exports, the company and state miner Cominiere said, marking a major step in Beijing’s push to secure more critical minerals in Africa. Zijin ...
China’s Zijin to Launch Congo’s First Lithium Output in June From Disputed Manono Deposit
By Maxwell Akalaare Adombila China’s Zijin Mining will initiate Congo’s first lithium output in June from the disputed Manono deposit and move immediately to exports, the company and state miner Cominiere said, marking a major step in Beijing’s push to secure ...
The China Factor Missing From the Headlines at This Year’s African Mining Indaba
The mining industry’s most important annual gathering is underway this week in Cape Town, South Africa, where corporate and government elites are convening for what is typically a routine, largely unremarkable business conference. This year is a little different.
Oil-Rich Angola Makes First Major Copper Exports
By Brian Benza Angola's first major copper mine shipped its first concentrates in January, an official said on Tuesday, the first such exports of the clean energy metal as the oil-rich African country diversifies its mineral resources income. ...
Chinese Miners Double Down on Africa as U.S. Pushes Parallel Critical Minerals Chain
Chinese analysts are responding to Washington’s push to build a China-free critical minerals supply chain with a mix of urgency and confidence. While U.S. policymakers are leaning on allies, financing, and offtake agreements to secure supplies of African copper, cobalt, and other strategic inputs, analysts in China ...
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 ...