Category: Mining
Ghana Bans Foreigners From Local Gold Trading in Major Overhaul
Ghana on Monday announced it was banning all foreigners from trading in its local gold market as part of sweeping reforms aimed at boosting foreign exchange reserves and stabilising the local currency. The ban takes effect on May 1 and grants ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: Kenya Courts China While U.S. Sounds Alarm Over Beijing’s Reach in Africa
Kenyan President William Ruto is scheduled to travel to Beijing later this month for an official state visit, where he's widely expected to finalize a long-awaited deal to extend the Chinese-built Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) to the Ugandan border. But ...
In China’s Wake, India Tries a Cleaner, Fairer Mineral Path in Africa
In January, the Indian government published a new critical minerals strategy that details how the country aims to bolster supply chains necessary for its green energy transition. While the report underscores the importance of developing domestic supplies of lithium and other ...
Colombia Seizes 54 Tons of China-Bound Smartphone Minerals
Colombian police said Wednesday they had seized 54 tons of tin and coltan, a mineral used in smartphones, that had been illicitly extracted by leftist rebels and readied for shipment to China. They valued the seizure, one of the biggest of ...
Q&A: Indonesia’s Nickel Strategy Benefits China, Offers Cautionary Tale for Developing Nations, Says Researcher
Indonesia controls the world’s largest nickel reserves, crucial to powering electric vehicles and fueling the global green transition. But despite its natural advantage, the country finds itself missing out on the actual industrial gains. Instead of building homegrown technological ...
Documenting the Human Cost of Nickel Mining: CGSP Wins Top Photojournalism Prize
The China-Global South Project (CGSP) has won the 2025 World Press Photo Award for a striking photo essay exposing the human cost of Indonesia’s nickel boom. The winning image, taken by Indonesian photojournalist Mas Agung Wilis Yudha Baskoro, captures ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: DRC Considers Extending Cobalt Export Ban as Prices Soar
The Chinese electric vehicle giant BYD reportedly plans to double its annual sales outside of China to more than 800,000 cars in 2025. The company’s chairperson, Wang Chuanfu, said it plans to evade tariffs by expanding local assembling and that it sees “great opportunities” in Latin America and ...
EU Unveils Critical Material Projects to Cut China Dependence
By Raziye Akkoc and Daniel Aronssohn The EU unveiled dozens of projects Tuesday to ramp up the extraction of critical raw materials in Europe as the bloc seeks to reduce its over-reliance on China. The ...
China Expands Strategic Reserve of Industrial Metals as Indonesia, Philippines Tighten Supply
China is quietly expanding its strategic reserves of key industrial metals, including nickel, just as Indonesia and the Philippines tighten export policies and raise mining royalties, reshaping global supply chains. Beijing’s stockpiling efforts and shifting supply dynamics in Southeast Asia are ...
China’s CMOC Group Announces Strong Earnings as Market is Split Over DRC’s Cobalt Export Ban
The world's largest cobalt producer, China's CMOC Group, announced record earnings for 2024 with net income jumping 64% to $1.9 billion, well above analyst estimates. These results are particularly impressive given the fact that cobalt prices hovered near record lows last ...
WEEK IN REVIEW: Chinese Mining Disaster in Zambia
Millions of Zambians along the Kafue River are coming to grips with the devastating environmental impact brought about by a massive acid spill from a Chinese-run copper mine. A tailings dam broke on February 18th, sending 50 million liters of toxic ...
Kiribati Eyes Deep-Sea Mining Deal With China
Pacific nation Kiribati says it is exploring a deep-sea mining partnership with China, dangling access to a vast patch of the Pacific Ocean harboring coveted metals and minerals. Beijing has been ramping up efforts to court Pacific nations sitting on lucrative ...