Zimbabwe Looks to China to Secure Place in EV Battery Supply Chain
January 23rd, 2024
Via African Arguments, a report on Zimbabwe’s lithium-focused partnership with China: Wonder Mushove stared blankly at plumes of red dust billowing into the sky as more than 30 trucks carrying loads of lithium ore rumbled past his newly-built house in Buhera, in eastern Zimbabwe. The trucks drive by Mukwasi village on the dirt road linking the […]
Read more »Rush for Africa’s ‘Clean Energy’ Minerals Risks Repeating Harmful Extractivist Model
January 5th, 2024
Via Mongabay, commentary on how the rush for ‘clean energy’ minerals in Africa risks repeating harmful extractivist model: The nonprofit Global Witness investigated lithium mining projects in Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Namibia, which appear to reproduce the same model of extractivism that has impoverished African countries for centuries. In March, residents of […]
Read more »West Faces Long Struggle To Loosen China’s Grip on Africa’s Critical Minerals
December 5th, 2023
Courtesy of The Africa Report, commentary on the long struggle faced by the West to loosen China’s grip on Africa’s critical minerals: China is in pole position to negotiate minerals access with African governments keen to add more value locally. China has built a long head start over the West in securing access to Africa’s […]
Read more »China: Winning Africa’s “White-Gold” Rush for Lithium
November 30th, 2023
Courtesy of The Economist, a report on how China is winning Africa’s “white-gold” rush for lithium: A visit to the district of Goromonzi, in north-east Zimbabwe, is a lesson in economic history. Its fallow fields hint at the decay that followed the government’s seizure of white-owned farms more than two decades ago. In the surrounding hills […]
Read more »Rush for Lithium in Africa Risks Fueling Corruption and Failing The Continent’s Citizens
November 22nd, 2023
Via Global Witness, critical commentary on the rush for lithium in Africa: Efforts to address the global climate emergency are leading to an increased demand for renewable energy technology, particularly in the Global North, including electric vehicles and the batteries required to power them. Africa is one of the new frontiers in a race for […]
Read more »China: Winning Africa’s “White Gold” Rush for Lithium
November 13th, 2023
Courtesy of The Economist, a look at how China’s grip on Africa’s clean-energy minerals is a challenge for the West: A visit to the district of Goromonzi, in north-east Zimbabwe, is a lesson in economic history. Its fallow fields hint at the decay that followed the government’s seizure of white-owned farms more than two decades ago. […]
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.