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International Media Resource Articles

Trump recognizes that domestic mining is a national security issue – by Sara Vakhshouri (The Hill – April 12, 2025)

https://thehill.com/

President Trump’s executive order to increase domestic critical mineral production has been interpreted as a pro-industry move or a nod to traditional energy sectors. It is both — but more importantly, it is a long overdue national security play.

In the modern geopolitical chess game, America’s mineral vulnerability is not just an economic liability but a strategic one. The order activates the Defense Production Act to boost domestic mining and processing of minerals like lithium, rare earths, nickel, cobalt, copper and uranium.

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China Halts Critical Exports as Trade War Intensifies – by Keith Bradsher (New York Times – April 13, 2025)

https://www.nytimes.com/

Beijing has suspended exports of certain rare earth minerals and magnets that are crucial for the world’s car, semiconductor and aerospace industries.

China has suspended exports of a wide range of critical minerals and magnets, threatening to choke off supplies of components central to automakers, aerospace manufacturers, semiconductor companies and military contractors around the world.

Shipments of the magnets, essential for assembling everything from cars and drones to robots and missiles, have been halted at many Chinese ports while the Chinese government drafts a new regulatory system. Once in place, the new system could permanently prevent supplies from reaching certain companies, including American military contractors.

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Nickel, paradise and ‘emancipation’ – by Cooper Williams and Yasmine Wright Gittins (Australian Broadcasting Corporation – April 10, 2025)

https://www.abc.net.au/

A bet on nickel gave many New Caledonians hopes of prosperity and independence. But when the economy turned, it left behind a ghost town full of broken hearts.

It was a symbol of economic freedom — offering a chance at prosperity for communities who shared little in New Caledonia’s wealth. Standing tall by the turquoise waters of the French territory’s lagoons, the Koniambo nickel factory once hummed with activity, feeding the world’s insatiable demand for the lucrative metal.

Now, silence blankets its heavy machinery. The site sits abandoned, its overseas workforce long gone, and its local staff — mostly Indigenous Kanak people — out of jobs.

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Just How Badly Does Donald Trump Want Access to Critical Minerals? – by Nicolas Niarchos (New Yorker – April 15, 2025)

https://www.newyorker.com/

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has some of the largest deposits on Earth. Its President wants to sell them—and win a war.

On a recent episode of Fox News’ “Special Report,” the host, Bret Baier, turned his attention to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country that doesn’t frequently make headlines in the United States. Using a map of the country, which is two-thirds the size of Western Europe, to educate his viewers, Baier began by outlining the regional conflicts in which the D.R.C. has been engaged, dating back to the refugee crises triggered by the Rwandan genocide of 1994.

He added that “Congo is considered the world’s richest country in terms of natural resources,” containing untapped supplies worth “an estimated twenty-four trillion dollars, with a ‘T.’ ” Those resources include gold, diamonds, and so-called critical metals, such as cobalt and lithium, which are used in rechargeable batteries.

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US stocks, dollar tumble as reality sets back in on Wall Street – by David Goldman and John Towfighi (CNN.com – April 10, 2025)

https://www.cnn.com/

New York – CNN — The US stock market, fresh off its third-best day in modern history, is sinking back into reality: Although President Donald Trump paused most of his “reciprocal” tariffs, his other massive import taxes have already inflicted significant damage, and the economy won’t easily recover from the fallout.

Stocks tumbled Thursday, falling deeply into the red after the White House clarified that its tariff on all Chinese goods was at least 145% — even higher than previously believed. The Dow, after rising nearly 3,000 points Wednesday, had a volatile day in the red on Thursday. The blue-chip index fell 1,000 points, or 2.5%, Thursday afternoon, pulling back from tumbling as much as 2,100 points earlier.

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Gold rush unleashed: The global struggle for control over Central Asia’s mineral wealth – by Zeynep Gizem Özpınar (Daily Sabah – April 10, 2025)

https://www.dailysabah.com/

Central Asia’s mineral wealth sparks global rivalry, shaping the region’s economic and geopolitical future

Central Asia is becoming increasingly critical on the world stage in terms of rare earth elements and strategic minerals. These resources have become indispensable in many sectors, from modern technology to the defence industry, from renewable energy to advanced manufacturing processes.

Since rare earth elements have a wide range of uses, from semiconductors to batteries, from military equipment to wind turbines, countries with these minerals are strategically important. While the competition of global powers in this field is increasing, the riches of Central Asia turn the region into not only an economic centre of attraction but also a geopolitical battleground.

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Smith introduces bill to ban copper-nickel mining near Boundary Waters – by Jimmy Lovrien (Duluth News Tribune – April 9, 2025)

https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/

The legislation would make permanent a 20-year ban on that type of mining on 225,000 acres of Superior National Forest in the Rainy River Watershed, a Biden-era move Trump has vowed to reverse.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., has introduced a bill to ban copper-nickel mining on nearly a quarter-million acres of federal land in the same watershed as the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

The bill would make permanent a 20-year ban on that type of mining on 225,000 acres of Superior National Forest land in the Rainy River Watershed, which is shared with the BWCAW. The status of mining in that watershed and Twin Metals, which wants to build an underground mine, tailings storage facility and processing plant upstream of the BWCAW along Birch Lake, has bounced back and forth depending on who is in the White House.

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In Potential Russia Sanctions Removal, Diamonds Illustrate the Complexities – by Brad Brooks-Rubin (Just Security – April 10, 2025)

https://www.justsecurity.org/

Amid intense uncertainty and speculation about the future of sanctions related to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, companies across all sectors are beginning to imagine what a future of sanctions relief may mean for them.

One of those sectors is that of mining and sales of natural diamonds, which is navigating a number of major challenges, only some of which are directly or indirectly connected to business involving Russia. In any case, what happens in the diamond industry related to Russia could be particularly instructive for other sectors because of its exposure to Western consumers, the physical capability of tracing the product along the supply chain from beginning to end, and its experience with mechanisms intended to improve and promote standards for responsible business.

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Column: China primes rare earths weapon as trade war escalates – by Andy Home (Reuters – April 10, 2025)

https://www.reuters.com/

As U.S. President Donald Trump turns up the tariff heat on China, Beijing is targeting ever more of the United States’ critical material supply chains.

Weird and wonderful metals such as antimony, gallium and germanium have already been sucked into the escalating trade war with China restricting exports and banning sales to the United States. Beijing has just raised the mineral threat another level by adding seven rare earths to its dual-use list of restricted exports.

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Trump order seeks to tap coal power in quest to dominate AI – by Ari Natter and Jennifer A. Dlouhy (Bloomberg News – April 8, 2025)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

President Donald Trump is moving to expand the mining and use of coal inside the US, a bid to power the boom in energy-hungry data centers while seeking to revive a declining US fossil fuel industry. In an executive order Trump is set to sign Tuesday afternoon, the president will direct a number of steps by the federal government meant to reinvigorate coal said a senior White House official.

The actions including emphasizing the US is back in the business of selling coal mining rights on federal land and ordering the rock be designated as a critical mineral. Other steps include accelerating the export of US coal and related technologies.

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Is Indonesia’s ‘Nickel Nationalism’ A Smart Strategy? – Analysis – by Dr. Sameer Kumar (Eurasia Review – April 4, 2025)

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Indonesia sits atop the world’s biggest nickel reserves – a metal essential for electric vehicle (EV) batteries and the renewable energy transition. In recent years, Jakarta has boldly wielded its resource might by banning exports of raw nickel ore to force global companies to invest in domestic processing.

This “nickel nationalism” has catapulted Indonesia into becoming a major player in the EV supply chain, attracting billions in foreign investment and fostering local industry. President Joko Widodo touts it as a smart strategy to move Indonesia up the value chain.

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As Chile revs up lithium plans, Indigenous groups demand more control – by Daina Beth Solomon (Reuters – April 7, 2025)

https://www.reuters.com/

Chile’s Indigenous communities in the lithium-rich Atacama Desert are in talks with two of the nation’s biggest miners to gain more influence over plans to increase extraction of the battery metal, according to the companies and community sources.

The negotiations with Chile’s State-run Codelco, the world’s biggest copper producer, and Chilean lithium producer SQM, come as the companies are close to finalizing a partnership that will mark the state’s entry into production of the metal that is crucial for electric vehicle batteries.

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China deploys rare earths as weapon in trade war with Trump (Bloomberg News – April 7, 2025)

https://www.bloomberg.com/

China has expanded its use of critical minerals as a trade weapon with curbs on exports of rare earths, threatening to shake-up the global supply of key materials used widely in high-tech manufacturing from electric vehicles to weaponry.

As part of its retaliation to President Donald Trump’s so-called reciprocal tariffs on imported Chinese goods, Beijing said Friday it will tighten controls on exports of seven types of rare earths. The country is by far the world’s biggest supplier of the minerals, which comprise 17 elements in the periodic table.

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Dow plunges by more than 1,600 points after China retaliates against Trump’s tariffs – by David Goldman and John Towfighi (CNN.com – April 4, 2025)

https://www.cnn.com/

New York – CNN – US stocks were battered by a sell-off Friday after China retaliated against the United States for President Donald Trump’s tariffs in a tit-for-tat that escalates a global trade war. The Dow fell more than 1,600 points, or 4%, and the broader S&P 500 was 4.7% lower. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was 5.3% lower.

Investors had been fearful that a dramatic escalation of the trade war could plunge the US and global economies into a recession. JPMorgan analysts said Thursday that America’s economy and the broader world economy both had a 60% chance of sinking into a recession this year. The analysts also said odds of a recession would rise if countries began to retaliate against the United States — and China did so Friday. Retaliation raises the risk of further escalation and could diminish hopes for negotiation.

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OPINION: Nigeria’s Illegal Gold Trade – Elites And Bandits Are Working Together – by Dr Oluwole Ojewale (The Nigerian Voice – April 3, 2025)

https://www.thenigerianvoice.com/

Illegal mining activities in Nigeria are devastating the country’s economy, as well as fuelling violence. Strategic minerals mined in the country’s north-west region include granite, gypsum, kaolin, laterite, limestone, phosphate, potash, silica sand and gold.

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative has estimated that the legal mining sector contributed N814.59 billion (US$527 million) in 15 years. Earnings were highest in 2021.

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