Why the U.S. Keeps Losing to China in the Battle Over Critical Minerals
March 11th, 2025
Via The Wall Street Journal, a report on how the West got its hands on one of the world’s best graphite mines—then things started going off the rails: When mining executive Shaun Verner first visited his company’s graphite deposit in Mozambique in 2017, he felt sure he had a winner. His goal: to challenge China’s dominance over […]
Read more »Chinese Demand for Rosewood Empowers Some of Africa’s Deadliest Terrorist Groups
December 8th, 2024
Via The Diplomat, an article on how Chinese smuggling rings have been instrumental in the illegal trafficking of rosewood. They also provide support to terrorist groups in West Africa and Mozambique. For centuries, cultures around the globe have prized items made from rosewood due to its fine-grained durability and rich coloring. Nowhere has this been […]
Read more »Tuna Boats at Heart of $2 Billion Mozambique Scandal Up for Sale
November 25th, 2024
Via Bloomberg, a report that the tuna fishing fleet at the center of a $2 billion corruption scandal, which scuttled Mozambique’s economy and triggered court cases across three continents, is up for auction: Most of the boats have never gone fishing in a decade The scandal ended in default and sank the nation’s economy The […]
Read more »Are Rwandan Troops Becoming Cabo Delgado’s Main Security Provider?
September 29th, 2024
Via Eurasia Review, a look at the growing security relationship between Rwanda and Mozambique: In July 2021, around 1 000 personnel from the Rwanda Defence Force and Rwanda National Police arrived in the terrorist-hit Mozambique province of Cabo Delgado. The province faced a severe threat from violent extremism characterised by increased attacks on civilians and […]
Read more »Ex-BP Executive Gets Go Ahead for Biggest African Mangrove Project
September 6th, 2024
Via Bloomberg, an article on a significant new mangrove project in Mozambique: A company founded and controlled by a former BP Plc executive has won a license to restore and protect mangrove forests in Mozambique, Africa’s biggest such project yet. The United Arab Emirates-based Blue Forest plans to start planting 200 million mangrove trees in […]
Read more »As Shell and ExxonMobil Sell Onshore Assets, Are Africa’s Indigenous Producers Ready?
September 5th, 2024
Via The Africa Report, a look at whether – as Shell and ExxonMobil sell onshore assets – Africa’s indigenous producers are ready? As oil majors shift focus to deep offshore exploration in Africa, local producers face rising costs and complex challenges in a rapidly evolving industry landscape. A long-term shift by oil majors towards deep […]
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.