Category: Mining
The Head of a Major Chinese Mining Company Flew to Sierra Leone Just Days After Parliament Cleared the Way for Expanded Iron Ore Shipments
Colin Ding,President of Kingho Energy Group, landed in Freetown this week, just days after Sierra Leone's parliament voted to ratify a port and rail lease agreement that will facilitate the export of iron ore from the West African nation.
China’s Ambassador to the DRC Hints the Country May Once Again Be at the Center of a Great Power Struggle
Chinese ambassador to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zhu Jing, posted a somewhat cryptic tweet earlier this week that suggested the DRC may once again be at the center of a great power struggle, this one, he implied between the United States and China.
Ghanaian MP Sparks Furore by Accusing Members of His Own Ruling Party of Protecting Chinese Illegal Miners
Outspoken Ghanaian Member of Parliament, Kennedy Agyapong, issued a stunning warning this weekend when he appeared on national television to accuse members of his own ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) of supporting illegal mining operators known as galamsey, including some who are Chinese.
“I Have Had Enough!” DRC President Étienne Tshisekedi Hints He’s Ready to Take on Chinese Investors Over Unfair Contracts
DR Congo President Étienne Tshisekedi ventured to the heart of the country's cobalt mining territory to personally deliver a warning to foreign investors (read Chinese) that unfair mining contracts are going to be re-negotiated. On Thursday, the president traveled to the city of Kowlezi in the southern ...
Glencore’s CEO Warns Western Automakers About China’s Control of Congolese Cobalt
The CEO of the world's largest cobalt mining company issued a stern warning to U.S. and European automakers that they had better get their acts together to secure supplies of this precious metal or else risk becoming dependent on China for batteries to power their electric vehicles. ...
Veteran China Journalist Warns That China is Looking to Eventually Replace Australian Iron Ore With Suppliers in Brazil and Africa
There's been widespread speculation over the past year that China wants to develop new iron ore supply chains in Africa so it can stop buying from Australia in response to steadily worsening ties between the two countries. While there've been indications ...
Booming Chinese Demand for African Metals and Minerals Pushes Prices to Record Highs
These are good days for Africa's metals and mineral exporters, who are seeing record prices thanks to strong demand, in part, from China and international automakers that produce new energy vehicles. The timing for this latest "commodity supercycle," ...
While Ghana’s Governing Elites Call For Deeper Economic Engagement With China, Civil Society Groups Fume
The yawning gap between China's successful courtship of ruling elites in Africa and Beijing's difficulties in soothing concerns about debt, environmental sustainability, trade, immigration, and other contentious issues among civil society stakeholders has been on full display in Ghana over the past several weeks. ...
Two Chinese Nationals Arrested in Ghanaian Army Crackdown on Illegal Mining
Ghanaian army troops fanned out across the country on Wednesday in a nationwide crackdown on illegal mining in river areas, arresting dozens, including at least two Chinese nationals. The pair have been taken to Accra where they will ...
Maybe Antony Blinken Thinks China Uses Debt Traps in Africa After Reading Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal
It's not surprising that a lot of people, including the U.S. Secretary of State, remain mistaken in their belief that the Chinese seize physical assets in the event of a loan default, given that it continues to appear in news reports -- including ...
Growing Civil Society Anger in Ghana About the Government’s Perceived Double Standard in How It Treats Chinese “Galamsey”
There's growing frustration in Ghana over the government's apparent refusal to crack down on Chinese participation in illegal gold mining, a practice known locally as galamsey. This is an issue that's been simmering for years, but recently activists and commentators have become much more vocal in denouncing ...
Demand for EV Battery Materials is Surging Putting Renewed Focus on Where These Strategic Resources Come From and China’s Role in Processing Them
With new electric-powered sports cars like Ford's Mach-E and Audi's e-tron Quattro selling well, demand is surging for the strategic minerals and metals that are used to make the batteries in those vehicles. Sales of lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite