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Africa Mining

Analysis-Mali arrests, Niger site seizure rattle Western miners – by David Lewis, Melanie Burton and Portia Crowe(MSM.com – December 11, 2024)

https://www.msn.com/en-us/

The arrest of mining executives in Mali, threats by Burkina Faso’s junta to strip permits and the seizure of a French-run uranium site in Niger have unsettled Western miners operating in West Africa and could limit further investments. Day-to-day production in Mali and Burkina Faso has so far been largely unaffected.

The escalation is expected, however, to hit firms seeking finance and insurance – curbing supply growth in Africa’s engine of gold output, more than a dozen people, including mining employees, financiers, insurance providers and government sources, told Reuters.

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Mali issues arrest warrant for Barrick CEO, reports say – by Geoffrey York and Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – December 6, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Authorities in Mali have issued an arrest warrant for Barrick Gold Corp. chief executive officer Mark Bristow in a fresh escalation of a tax dispute in the West African country, Malian journalists have reported.

Copies of the arrest warrant, posted by one of the journalists on social media Thursday, show that Mr. Bristow is being charged with money laundering and violating Mali’s financial regulations during the period from 2019 to 2023.

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Biden’s Angola visit aims to showcase his attempts to rival China – by Anne Soy (BBC.com – December 2, 2024)

https://www.bbc.com/

Apart from oil, Angola is also rich in minerals, including cobalt and lithium, which are essential for making batteries for electric vehicles.

Joe Biden has begun his long-anticipated maiden visit to sub-Saharan Africa as US president but it comes amidst uncertainty over future US-Africa relations as Donald Trump prepares to succeed him in January.

Biden’s visit to oil-rich Angola seeks to underline an attempt by America to focus more on trade and heavy investment in infrastructure, in what some analysts see as the most direct counter yet to China’s influence on the continent.

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Ontario judge dismisses case alleging human rights abuses against Barrick at Tanzanian mine – by Nial McGee (Globe and Mail – November 27, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

An Ontario court has dismissed a pair of civil suits against Barrick Gold Corp. that alleged it was responsible for human-rights abuses at a Tanzanian mine, with the judge ruling that any such court action should be tried in Tanzania.

The plaintiffs are a group of Indigenous Kurya from villages around the mine who were injured in 2021 and 2022 when the Tanzanian police force allegedly shot at them, as well as family members of victims who were killed during this period allegedly by the police.

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Botswana to Set Up G7 Verification Node for Diamonds – by Joshua Freedman (Papaport Magazine – November 27, 2024)

https://rapaport.com/

Botswana will establish a certification point for rough diamonds entering Group of Seven (G7) countries next year, authorities announced Wednesday, with discussions underway for additional nodes in Namibia and Angola.

The development follows widespread opposition to a plan for Antwerp to be a “single node” through which all rough destined for G7 markets would pass to ensure it is not subject to Russian sanctions.

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Four Barrick Gold employees detained in Mali in second wave of arrests over foreign miners’ revenues – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – November 26, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. says four of its local employees have been “unjustly imprisoned” in Mali in a second wave of arrests of its staff in the West African country where one of its biggest gold mines is located.

Mali’s military regime, which took power in a 2021 coup, has been putting pressure on foreign mining companies to give the government a bigger share of their revenue. It has been seeking US$417-million from Barrick, alleging that the company failed to pay all its required taxes – a charge the company rejects.

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Why police are in a standoff with people working an abandoned South African mine – by Sheena Goodyear (CBC Radio As It Happens – November 21, 2024)

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/

Illegal mining is a ‘very complicated problem’ that needs more than a police crackdown to fix, says advocate

For weeks, police have been stationed at the opening of an abandoned gold mine in South Africa, trying to smoke out the people illegally working deep inside. Since the standoff began, more than 1,000 miners have emerged to face arrest, one decomposing body has been recovered, and community members have gone to court to ensure their loved ones underground continue to get food and water.

It’s not clear how many miners are still underground in Stilfontein, in the country’s North West province. Police say they number in the hundreds. But community members say there are thousands of people below, either unwilling to come out and face arrest, or too frail to get out on their own.

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Mitsui places highest bid for stake in First Quantum’s Zambian copper mines (Mining Technology – November 21, 2024)

https://www.mining-technology.com/

The divestment of stakes may ease First Quantum’s financial strain after the closure of its Panamanian copper mine due to protests.

Japanese trading company Mitsui has placed the highest bid for around a 20% share in Canadian mining giant First Quantum Minerals‘ Zambian Sentinel and Kansanshi copper mines for roughly $2bn (Y308.82bn), reported Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter.

The bid surpasses a competing offer from Saudi Arabia’s Manara Minerals Investment. The potential deal’s terms are still under negotiation. The company could opt for an alternative buyer or retain its assets.

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Inside South Africa’s ‘ruthless’ gang-controlled gold mines – by Nomsa Maseko (BBC.com – November 20, 2024)

https://www.bbc.com/

Along with about 600 other men, Ndumiso lives and works in a small gang-controlled “town” – complete with markets and a red light district – that has grown up deep underground at a disused gold mine in South Africa.

Ndumiso told the BBC that after being laid off by a big mining firm, he decided to join the gang in its underground world to become what is known as a “zama zama”, an illegal miner. He digs for the precious metal and surfaces every three months or so to sell it on the black market for a huge profit, earning more than he ever did before – though the risks now are far higher.

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Mali Frees Resolute Executives After $160 Million Deal, AFP Reports – by Sybilla Gross (Bloomberg News – November 20, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Mali has released three Resolute Mining Ltd. executives after the African nation detained them in a tax dispute, Agence France-Presse reported, citing a judicial source and a local gold mine official.

The three executives, including Chief Executive Officer Terry Holohan, were freed from detention on Wednesday after Resolute struck a $160 million deal with the government, according to the report. The release came after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two parties, it added, citing the judicial source.

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Niger embraces Russia for uranium production leaving France out in the cold (RFI France – November 13, 2024)

https://www.rfi.fr/en/

Niger has called on Russian firms to directly invest in uranium and other natural resource production, following the collapse of relations with former colonial ruler France and the eviction of French nuclear giant Orano from the country

Niger’s recent diplomatic shift away from France towards Russia has marked a turning point in the nation’s resource management strategy, particularly concerning its abundant uranium reserves.

Following the military coup in July 2023, which resulted in the removal of President Mohamed Bazoum, Niger’s military junta has been taking increasingly bold steps to redefine its international partnerships, especially in the critical mining sector.

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South Africa’s government won’t help the illegal miners inside a closed mine – by Mogomotsi Magome (Associated Press – November 14, 2024)

https://apnews.com/

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa’s government says it won’t help a group of illegal miners inside a closed mine in the country’s North West province who have been denied access to basic supplies as part of an official strategy against illegal mining.

The miners in the mineshaft in Stilfontein are believed to be suffering from a lack of food, water and other basic necessities after police closed off the entrances used to transport their supplies underground.

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Barrick prepared to give Mali more than half of economic spoils to end fiscal dispute – by Niall McGee (Globe and Mail – November 8, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

Barrick Gold Corp. chief executive Mark Bristow says the Canadian gold miner is prepared to fork over to Mali more than half of the economic spoils from mining in the country, as it toils to put an end to yet another fiscal dispute with an overseas government.

Toronto-based Barrick over the past few years has bounced from one fiscal dispute to another with several host countries over taxes, royalties and joint-venture stakes in its mines overseas. After patching up disputes that lasted for years with both Tanzania in East Africa and then Papua New Guinea in the southwestern Pacific, Barrick this year has tangled with Mali’s military junta in West Africa.

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World’s biggest cobalt miner is gloomy on the EV metal’s future – by Annie Lee (Bloomberg News – November 6, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

The world’s No. 1 cobalt miner is sounding the alarm over the shrinking role of the metal in electric vehicle batteries. Chinese company CMOC Group Ltd., which has been churning out cobalt much faster than rivals like Glencore Plc, said the importance of the raw material in the energy transition is declining rapidly.

The adoption of cobalt-free lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, batteries has gained momentum in recent years, due to them being cheaper to manufacture. The proportion of EV batteries in China containing cobalt will drop to 31% in 2024, from 44% two years ago, according to consultancy CRU Group.

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Botswana’s new president aims to clinch De Beers diamond sales pact soon – by Brian Benza, Felix Njini and Clara Denina (Reuters – November 1, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

Botswana’s new president, Duma Boko, said on Friday he wanted to conclude talks for a new sales pact with global diamonds giant De Beers as soon as possible.

De Beers, a unit of mining company Anglo American, last year agreed a new diamond sales pact, which would see the government’s share of diamonds from the Debswana joint venture gradually increase to 50% over the next decade.

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