Browsing: Rare Earths

The rapid snowballing of Africa’s rare earths metal production is set to become the world’s alternative source in 2023 and beyond, as global demand surges and world powers seek to wean off their dependence on China amid a new geopolitical multipolar world order. Africa’s vast reserves of rare earth metals have come under the radar of world powers fueled by the devastation emanating from the climate change crisis and calls for a drastic reduction in the growth and operations of extractive industries.

Furthermore, the race to net-zero emissions compounded by increased climate-induced natural disasters has intensified the green energy transition, instigating another scramble for Africa’s resources rare earth metals are at the heart of the race to green energy as well as providing opportunities for massive economic growth by injecting much-needed revenues to finance core socio-economic objectives in the continent.

Rare earth elements (REEs) refers to a group of 17 …

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) joined the East African Community (EAC) in March 2022 in a development that has been largely feted as positive.

This decision was reached by the heads of state of the other member countries. The BBC in a report that covered the development said that although the country had officially become a member of the regional bloc, not much would change right away. This is because at that time in March 2022 Congolese lawmakers still had to ratify the decision.

The report added that Congolese citizens looking to travel to other member countries of the East African Community had to wait a little while longer. The BBC gave the example of South Sudan which took four months to become a fully-fledged member in 2016.

• DRC recently joined the EAC which is a move expected to help the country realize its mineral potential through regional

Tanzania’s President John Magufuli has ordered the country’s Ministry of Minerals to allocate land to iron and other metal smelters; and to lure investors quickly, the president said the land allocation may even be done at ‘no direct charge’ to the investor.

The President issued the order at a swearing in ceremony for the ministry’s new deputy minister, on Friday 11.12.20. President Magufuli was emphatic over the sector’s potential to contribute to national development. He specifically named a few areas that have already been identified to have ‘millions of tonnes of iron deposits.

“We have so much iron deposit, if the smelters ate willing to melt stolen rails they are willing to smelt iron ores,” he said.

“Give investors areas to mine iron and other metals and minerals,” he went on to say and even pointed out that “…even right here at the capital, we have iron deposits.”

With that, …