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Africa Mining

Beyond Prince Harry: Securing Botswana’s Diamond Legacy – by Joshua Freedman (Rapaport Magazine – June 27, 2024)

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Tourism could be central to the country’s post-mining plans, says Debswana executive.

What connects Prince Harry and Kim Kardashian? Probably quite a lot of things, but among them is that they have both been to Botswana.

Harry famously vacationed with Meghan Markle in the southern African country, while Kardashian has visited the Jwaneng diamond mine. The latter might not have been the most glamorous place in which the celebrity has set foot: Jwaneng, like most diamond mines, is a massive pit in the ground.

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Up to 4,000 Rwandan troops have entered combat in eastern Congo, UN report says – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – June 25, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

As many as 4,000 Rwandan troops with high-tech weaponry have secretly crossed the border into eastern Congo to fight battles that have fuelled a vast humanitarian catastrophe across the region, a new United Nations report says.

The fighting, causing heavy casualties with indiscriminate shelling of civilian areas, has forced at least a million people to flee their homes in the past nine months, many of them now surviving in one of the more than 100 overcrowded camps for displaced people around the besieged city of Goma, near the border with Rwanda, the report says.

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Investing in Africa’s Copperbelt – The Race for EV Metals (Gulf Africa Review – June 21, 2024)

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U.S., Japanese, and European companies are investing in Africa’s Copperbelt, employing cutting-edge technology to extract essential electric vehicle metals like copper and cobalt.

The global demand for electric vehicle (EV) metals has spurred a surge in investments in Africa’s Copperbelt, a region straddling Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Companies from the U.S., Japan, and Europe are increasingly leveraging advanced technologies to identify and extract critical minerals such as copper and cobalt, challenging China’s dominance in the region.

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Niger revokes French nuclear group’s licence at major uranium mine (Al Jazeera – June 21, 2024)

https://www.aljazeera.com/

Removal of Orano licence highlights tensions with France, with Russia said to be eyeing the major site.

Niger’s military government has revoked the operating licence of French nuclear fuel producer Orano at one of the world’s biggest uranium mines, as it continues to cut ties with former colonial power France.

State-owned Orano said on Thursday that it had been ordered out of the Imouraren mine in northern Niger which sits on an estimated 200,000 tonnes of the metal, used for nuclear power and weapons.

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London bullion market drops bid to block U.K. trial over allegations against Barrick mine – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – June 17, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

London’s bullion market association is abandoning a jurisdictional challenge to a lawsuit by Tanzanian claimants, setting the stage for a British trial into allegations that the association is wrongly giving human-rights clearance to gold products from Barrick Gold Corp.’s controversial North Mara mine.

The lawsuit was filed in London in 2022 by relatives of two Tanzanian men allegedly killed by security forces at the North Mara gold mine, but the jurisdictional argument had delayed the trial for nearly a year.

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Sanctions on Russian diamonds: Good or bad for Africa? – by Chrispin Mwakideu (DW.com – June 19, 2024)

https://www.dw.com/en/

Diamond-rich African nations are ramping up production to fill the gap left by the G7 sanctions on Russian diamonds. But not all countries are happy about the ban.

Earlier this year, the G7 , a group of wealthy nations comprising the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Japan, and the European Union banned rough diamonds mined in Russia.The ban was part of many sanctions on Russia imposed by Western nations and their allies for President Vladimir Putin’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

But the sanctions against Russian diamonds, intended to weaken Russia’s economy in light of its aggression, could pose a potential risk to the global diamond market’s stability.

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Orano at Risk of Losing Niger Uranium Mine Sought by Russia – by Katarina Höije (Bloomberg News – June 15, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Orano SA could lose the right to mine uranium at one of the largest deposits in the world by June 19 after Niger rejected the French nuclear company’s plan for developing the asset.

The move comes as Russia’s seeks to take over mining assets in the West African country controlled by the French company, Bloomberg reported on June 3. Niger’s Paris-allied president was overthrown in a coup last July, the latest in a string of military takeovers in the region that has seen strongmen spurn ex-colonial power France and forge closer ties with Moscow.

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Nigeria turns to lithium as its oil industry struggles (Euro Dayfr.com – June 6, 2024)

https://euro.dayfr.com/

As Nigeria’s oil reserves begin to run out after decades of crude oil exploitation, the West African country is turning to another valuable resource – lithium. There is a growing global demand for this “white gold”, necessary for the production of batteries for electrical appliances, electric vehicles and renewable energy storage.

Nigeria is estimated to have significant lithium resources, but the country’s mining industry is currently underdeveloped. Furthermore, the government must tackle the problem of resource theft, support the sustainable development of the mining industry and ensure that foreign players add value to the domestic market. rian of lithium to guarantee its success.

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What to know about Russia’s growing footprint in Africa – by Mark Banchereau and Jessica Donati (Associated Press – June 6, 2024)

https://apnews.com/

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Russia’s top diplomat pledged help and military assistance while on a whirlwind tour of several countries in Africa’s sub-Saharan region of Sahel this week, as Moscow seeks to grow its influence in the restive, mineral-rich section of the continent.

Russia is emerging as the security partner of choice for a growing number of African governments in the region, displacing traditional allies like France and the United States. Sergey Lavrov, who has made several trips to Africa in recent years, this week stopped in Guinea, the Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso and Chad.

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South Korea, Africa leaders pledge deeper ties, critical mineral development – by Hyonhee Shin (Reuters – June 4, 2024)

https://www.reuters.com/

GOYANG, South Korea, June 4 (Reuters) – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and the leaders of African countries agreed on Tuesday to forge deeper trade and business cooperation and launched a “critical minerals dialogue” aimed at sustainable development of the continent’s resources.

Hosting a first-ever summit with the leaders of 48 African nations, Yoon said South Korea would increase development aid for Africa to $10 billion over the next six years as it looks to tap the continent’s rich mineral resources and potential as a vast export market.

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Not All Diamonds Are Forever, Says De Beers – by Tim Treadgold (Forbes Magazine – June 4, 2024)

https://www.forbes.com/

A six-year synthetic diamond experiment by De Beers is being abandoned in the first aftershock of the failed $49 billion attempt by BHP to buy mining rival Anglo American, the current owner of the diamond industry leader.

The controversial decision to make and market synthetic, or laboratory grown diamonds, was an attempt by De Beers to be a player at the cheap end of the gem business, a place in which it has never been comfortable. Lured by the opportunity to sell man-made gems to a mass audience there was always the risk that De Beers would get trapped in a race to the bottom in both quality and price.

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Russia Said to Seek Takeover of France’s Uranium Assets in Niger (Bloomberg News – June 3, 2024)

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/

(Bloomberg) — Russia is seeking to take over uranium assets in Niger held by a state-controlled French company, according to people informed about the matter, in a further challenge to Western interests in Africa.

Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear company, has had contacts with Niger’s military-led authorities about acquiring assets held by France’s Orano SA, according to a person in Moscow familiar with the matter, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. A western diplomat based in the region said talks were likely centered around mining permits. Niger accounted for about 4% of global uranium mine production in 2022, according to the World Nuclear Association.

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OPINION: BHP’s failed pursuit of Anglo American does not mean mining megadeals are dead – by Eric Reguly (Globe and Mail – June 1, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

BHP Group’s botched bid for Anglo American brings the curtain down on the greatest takeover attempt in global mining in more than a decade. The megamerger game will not end here. BHP’s lunge for its smaller rival highlighted a hard truth: Copper is in short supply and any big mining company without it will pay the price as economies strive for low-carbon futures.

The desire to own Anglo’s copper assets, including its 44-per-cent stake in Chile’s Collahuasi mine, one of the world’s biggest copper reserves, propelled BHP’s pursuit of Anglo. Copper is the metal considered most critical to the energy revolution.

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Anglo American refuses to extend takeover talks with BHP, signalling end of mining megamerger attempt – by Eric Reguly (Globe and Mail – May 30, 2024)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/

BHP Group Ltd. BHP-N, the world’s biggest mining company, is seeing its megamerger proposal with Anglo American PLC fall apart, with the smaller company rejecting BHP’s call to extend the takeover talks.

Anglo’s rejection almost certainly kills BHP’s proposal to put the two companies together, which would have created the world’s biggest producer of copper, a metal considered critical to the transition to a low-carbon economy. Only a few days ago, it seemed the two sides were on the verge of an agreement.

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What’s Next for De Beers? – by Avi Krawitz (Rapaport Magazine – May 21, 2024)

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De Beers draws its value from the diamond market. That value has come under scrutiny after last month’s dramatic bid by BHP Billiton to acquire Anglo American, the 85% shareholder of De Beers — a deal Anglo rejected. The offer, along with the diamond market’s weak performance in 2023, has fueled speculation about the future of De Beers.

Anglo confirmed the rumors on May 14, while laying out its strategy to unlock value after rejecting a second offer from BHP. De Beers will “be divested or demerged, to improve strategic flexibility for both De Beers and Anglo American,” the company stated.

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