An Old Railroad Is Key to U.S.-China Race for Critical Metals In Africa
May 1st, 2026
Via Rest of World, an article on howWashington is trying to use the Lobito Railway in Congo to break China’s hold on critical metals in Africa: The Democratic Republic of the Congo is one of Africa’s wealthiest countries even as its people are some of the world’s poorest. It is rich in cobalt, lithium and […]
Read more »How Trump Could Take Control of DRC’s Rubaya Coltan Mine from AFC/M23 Rebels
March 6th, 2026
Via The Africa Report, a look at Rubaya – a project that has been officially added to the list of strategic mining assets that Kinshasa is offering to the United States. Highly coveted, the site remains under de facto rebel control and is under constant attack. Here is an analysis in infographics. On 24 February, […]
Read more »DRC Offers Manganese, Copper, Cobalt, and Lithium To U.S. Investors Under Minerals Pact
January 21st, 2026
Via Reuters, a report on Congo’s offer of manganese, copper?cobalt, and lithium assets to US investors under the recently signed minerals pact: The Democratic Republic of Congo has sent Washington a shortlist of state-owned assets – including manganese, copper-cobalt, gold and lithium projects – for U.S. investors to consider as part of a minerals partnership, […]
Read more »Angola’s Biggest Bank Accelerates Regional Expansion With DRC In Focus
November 25th, 2025
Via The Africa Report, a look at Banco Angolano de Investimentos’s plans to accelerate regional expansion: Banco Angolano de Investimentos (BAI) plans to raise the share of loans to the private sector to about 40% as it backs Angola’s push to diversify the economy away from oil and gas. The timing is favourable. Angola is hosting […]
Read more »DR Congo Backs $400M Satellite Deal To Tackle Digital Deficit
September 17th, 2025
Via Semafor, an article on DR Congo’s recent $400M satellite deal to tackle its digital deficit: DR Congo is betting on satellite internet to address one of the world’s worst connectivity deficits, with only one in three Congolese connected to mobile internet. Just three months after approving Elon Musk’s Starlink internet service to operate in the country, […]
Read more »Trump’s Congo Gamble: Critical Minerals and a Dangerous New Bargain
August 31st, 2025
Via The Africa Report, a report on the Trump administration’s controversial agreement with Kinshasa, tying US access to the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) mineral reserves to expanded security assistance in the east, a region convulsed by conflict with Rwanda-backed M23 rebels: The minerals that will power the world’s green transition could trap the Democratic […]
Read more »Focusing primarily on The New Seven Sisters - the largely state owned petroleum companies from the emerging world that have become key players in the oil & gas industry as identified by Carola Hoyos, Chief Energy Correspondent for The Financial Times - but spanning other nascent opportunities around the globe that may hold potential in the years ahead, Wildcats & Black Sheep is a place for the adventurous to contemplate & evaluate the emerging markets of tomorrow.