Wagner’s Mercenary gold rush in Mali
July 8th, 2023
Courtesy of The Africa Report, an article on Wagner’s mercenary gold rush in Mali Since its arrival in Bamako at the end of 2021, Yevgeny Prigozhin’s group Wagner has been eyeing Mali’s considerable gold resources. Recovery of mining permits, creation of local companies, artisanal gold panning, trafficking via Dubai; all avenues are being explored to […]
Read more »Land Ports on China-Russia Border Break Train Trips Record
July 7th, 2023
Via New Silk Road Discovery, a report on growing China-Europe trade via rail: The largest land port on the China-Russia border, Manzhouli in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, and Suifenhe Port, Heilongjiang province’s largest land port, recorded 2,754 trips of inbound and outbound China-Europe freight trains in the first half of this year, according to […]
Read more »Crippling Fuel Crisis Turns Cuba Towards Old Friend Russia
July 4th, 2023
Via BBC, an article on Cuba’s acute fuel shortages which – on top of years of food insecurity, inflation and electricity blackouts – is pushing Cuba closer to Russia: Cuban taxi driver Jorge Lloro is reminded of his nation’s historic ties to Russia every time he gets behind the wheel of his navy blue, Soviet-era […]
Read more »Mongolia In The Middle: China and Russia May Split Over the Allure of Renewables
June 30th, 2023
Via The Interpreter, commentary on how Mongolia – with an abundance of solar and wind power – is set to impact Sino-Russian relations: Mongolia, sandwiched as it is between China and Russia, the world’s two most powerful authoritarian states, is unlucky. Its rich solar and wind potential may prove to be a curse, not a […]
Read more »Rosatom To Mine Lithium in Bolivia
June 30th, 2023
Via Vedomosti, a report that Rosatom will mine lithium in Bolivia, an investment estimated at $600 million: Uranium One (U1) , which is part of the state corporation Rosatom , has won a tender to develop a lithium deposit in Bolivia. This was reported to Vedomosti by a representative of Techsnabexport (TENEX; the head office […]
Read more »The Global South Is Keeping Russia’s Energy Economy Afloat
June 26th, 2023
Courtesy of Foreign Policy, a report on how gas and oil flows are reshaping geopolitical alignments: As villages and towns change hands in Ukraine during the counteroffensive operations against Russian forces and Moscow grapples with internal instability following Wagner’s failed mutiny, the global energy map is also being redrawn. The war has not only dramatically […]
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.