Browsing: Cobalt DRC

cobalt ban

How DRC’s cobalt export ban is reshaping the US-China tech race

Business
  • DRC cobalt ban is steadily spiking prices for the critical mineral.
  • DRC, Indonesia, Chile in talks to form a ‘critical minerals OPEC’.
  • To counter the blow, US starts domestic refining.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has banned the export of cobalt in a move designed to push prices up. And, it is working: “There’s been a significant jump,” said Thomas Kavanagh, editor of battery metals at Argus Media, a market intelligence firm.

According to the market expert, after the export ban was instituted in February, “…the price of a key cobalt compound rose by more than 80 per cent. And it could be just the start,” he warns.

According to the expert, “the DRC’s export ban created immediate ripples throughout global commodity markets, triggering significant price volatility and prompting reassessment of supply chain stability for battery manufacturers and other end users.”

In his review, cobalt prices surged …

M23 rebels

M23 rebels: We will march all the way to Kinshasa

Africa
  • M23 rebels reportedly at Kavumu, about 40km north of mineral-rich Bukavu area.
  • UN experts claim the M23 rebels – one of over 100 militias seeking control in DRC’s east – is receiving support from about 4,000 soldiers from Rwanda.
  • According to Kinshasa, Rwandan soldiers are pillaging valuable resources from the mineral-rich eastern zone of DRC.

As M23 rebels continue pushing deeper into the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) after capturing the mineral-rich city of Goma, the city of Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu province, is on the verge of falling under their control.

Media reports show that M23 rebels are threatening to march to DRC capital Kinshasa as they push the government of Felix Tshisekedi on the negotiating table to meet their demands. “We will continue the march of liberation all the way to Kinshasa,” announced rebel leader Corneille Nangaa on Thursday, four days after the group confirmed the …

ANAPI/DRC

ANAPI: A guide to investment in the DRC

Countries

The government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) under President Félix-Antoine Tshisekedi has adopted a comprehensive strategy to fast-track economic development and attract investment to the country. Thus, through its Ministry of Planning, the government has established the National Agency for the Promotion of Investments, more commonly known by the acronym ANAPI.…

A panel discussion on AfCFTA.

Why reforms are vital in driving Africa’s free trade plan

Industry and Trade
  • By enhancing intra-African trade, AfCFTA estimates that the continent with gain $195 billion by 2045.
  • These gains are projected to be mainly realised in industry, services, agrifood, and energy sectors.
  • By collaborating under AfCFTA, countries can greatly boost regional supply chains for the global electric vehicles market.

African countries need to embrace a set of reforms critical in driving Africa's free trade plan, AfCFTA. The call comes even as more African leaders sign the agreement on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

AfCFTA has the potential to transform regional trade and thereby lift billions of livelihoods in Africa out of poverty. To realise these benefits however African leaders need to go beyond blueprints.

"It is not for lack of blueprints that Africa has not structurally transformed," United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) Secretary-General Antonio Pedro said.

Mr Pedro was speaking at the Africa Regional Forum by UNECA on…

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