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Mail & Guardian
cobaltlatest news & developments
The centre: African continent holds significant reserves of minerals essential to modern industrial systems,
including cobalt, lithium, platinum, manganese and rare-earth elements.

Africa: The only continent in all four hemispheres; global role still undecided

Its cities are expected to absorb hundreds of millions of new residents in the coming decades, making urban governance, infrastructure planning and service delivery central to…

The annual Mining Indaba in Cape Town this week again shines a spotlight on the importance of institutions and incentives if mining is to yield broad-based development across Africa. (Wikimedia Commons)

To render mining valuable, time horizons must shift

The annual Mining Indaba in Cape Town this week again shines a spotlight on the importance of institutions and incentives if mining is to yield broad-based development across…

Without responsible governance, the rush for minerals risks environmental harm, social disruption and lost economic opportunity

UN report: Africa’s transition minerals key to global clean energy future

Without responsible governance, the rush for minerals risks environmental harm, social disruption and lost economic opportunity

Women and children work at an artisanal cobalt mine in the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Photo: Augustin Wamenya/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

South Africa’s G20 presidency must rewire the global race for critical minerals

It must champion a new global compact on critical minerals, one that prioritizes beneficiation, environmental protection, fair labour and development justice.

Extraction: Among the green minerals is copper, which is mined in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, South Africa and Namibia. Photo: Getty Images

Decolonise the mind to power a green future

Green industrialisation in Africa is needed for the climate crisis and for a just development path

A new case study proposes that, as part of the country’s energy transition, mining-affected communities, like those in Sekhukhune, set up solar farms through cooperatives to generate electricity for their own use.

A new currency backed by minerals? Africa is gambling on its energy transition

The continent must use energy minerals for its development rather than feeding them to industrialised countries

Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe.(Rodger Bosch/AFP)

No minerals for the US if aid is cut, Gwede Mantashe threatens

The mineral and petroleum resources minister also told the mining indaba that the African continent must take charge of its mineral wealth

There is a good argument for Southern Africa to be positioned as a hub for beneficiation and manufacturing in the renewable energy and electric vehicle sectors, generating additional revenue, building local expertise and creating higher-value jobs.

Critical minerals a potential catalyst for sustainable growth in Southern Africa

Policies that attract investment while safeguarding long-term national interests can foster a conducive environment for cross-border investments

The mining industry has the potential to grow if there is more investment in exploration projects. (Michele Spatari/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Confluence of geopolitics, energy and trade can drive change in Africa’s mining industry

The theme of the February 2025 Mining Indaba, Futureproofing Mining Today, underscores the urgency of aligning policy, investment and local development to secure sustainable growth

(File photo by Tafadzwa Ufumeli/Getty Images)

Only a Pan-African industrial policy on critical minerals for renewable will unlock prosperity

African countries must avoid the mistakes of the fossil-fuel industrial revolution; the mining of cobalt, lithium, manganese, nickel and copper must be based on equity, human…

Village chief Mulema Bantu: ‘We know that conditions are often stipulated for mining companies, but we know nothing about them or their content.’ Photo: Jonas Kiriko

We want a say in transition mining, say DRC communities

Communities living on and working land in the Democratic Republic of the Congo say they are not informed about mining permits for energy transition minerals

Abuse: Miners move bags of cobalt at Congo Dongfang Mining’s Kasulo mine. Two-thirds of the world supply of cobalt is in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where men, women and children work.

The paradox of the DRC’s war: Mining for climate solutions fuels environmental destruction

The DRC is rich in the minerals needed for renewable energy technologies, central to reducing our carbon footprint, but they come at great environmental and human cost

Mining near the community forest of Bamasoba situated in North-Kivu. Photo: Jonas Kiriko
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Cobalt crush undermines future of DRC’s community forests

A historic UN deal to restore degraded forest ecosystems in southeastern DRC is being torn apart by mining companies

Battery minerals shine light on a greener, cleaner future

Responsible resource development goes hand in hand with environmental stewardship and social responsibility

Photo by Moses Sawasawa.

The world is brutally indifferent to the DRC’s democracy

The country’s future is inextricably intertwined with that of the planet itself. That is not necessarily a good thing

Women and children work at an artisanal cobalt mine in the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Photo: Augustin Wamenya/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Unearthing oppression in the DRC’s cobalt mines

This is an edited extract from Siddharth Kara’s book Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives

File photo: Mechanics work on a machine installed at Arcadia Lithium mine in Goromonzi, Zimbabwe. Photo by Tafadzwa Ufumeli/Getty Images

African leaders plan to safeguard the continent’s ‘green’ minerals

African countries are developing policies to control the exploitation and export of minerals used in clean energy

With South Africa’s low employment rate, particularly among young people, mining continues to make a valid contribution towards job creation, amid a tough economic operating climate. Photo: Supplied

Mining companies aren’t buying what the SA govt is selling — yet

Companies are withholding investment – despite the commodity boom’s bounty – in the face of constraints to exports and exploration

Endless: In the 1990s the DRC’s Laurent-Désiré Kabila (left) asked Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe (right) for help.  (Odd Andersen/AFP)

In the DRC, an ugly history of war risks repeating itself

East African leaders are mobilising armies to intervene in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. Decades ago, Zimbabwean soldiers came to Kinshasa’s aid and learnt harsh…

Copper has been identified as the main driver of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) activity in South Africa’s mining sector. Photo: Getty Images

Strategies to future-proof Zambia’s mining industry

A stable and resilient minerals royalty tax is crucial for the country to take advantage of the growing global demand for copper