Mining

China Plays Both Sides in Sudan Conflict, Hoping to Swoop in with Investments Later

Voice of America News (VOA) reported on Tuesday that while the international community is nervously monitoring the brutal war between factions of the Sudanese junta and scrambling to deal with the ensuing humanitarian disaster, Communist China is moving full speed ahead with plans to “advance its own interests” in Sudan’s oil and mineral resources.

Xi Jinping

Report: China Destroying Myanmar with Rare Earth Mining for ‘Green’ Energy

Chinese-owned companies in Myanmar are allegedly responsible for illegal mining operations that are destroying the natural landscape of Myanmar’s border region with China, local miners of dysprosium and terbium — two heavy rare earth minerals used in clean energy products and smart electronics — told the organization Global Witness for a report published on Tuesday.

A depiction of a rare earth mining operation in Myanmar. (AP Illustration/Peter Hamlin)

Brazil Seeks $2.7 Billion Investment for Lithium Production

Brazil’s Ministry of Mines and Energy said on Thursday that it hopes to attract over $2.7 billion in foreign investments to develop its lithium industry by the end of this decade. Lithium is a vital component for batteries, including those employed by electric vehicles.

From left, electric cars from Nissan, Tesla, and Toyota are presented at a news conference in Los Angeles on Dec. 13, 2013. Worldwide demand for lithium was about 350,000 tons (317,517 metric tons) in 2020, but industry estimates project demand will be up to six times greater by 2030. (Nick …

El Salvador to Build First ‘Bitcoin City’ at Base of Volcano

El Salvador’s government plans to build a “Bitcoin City” at the base of Conchagua Volcano in the country’s southeast in 2022, El Salvador’s La Prensa Gráfica newspaper reported Saturday, noting the city will be designed to harness the volcano’s geothermal energy to mine cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin.

President of Chile Faces Impeachment Bid over Pandora Papers

Opposition lawmakers in Chile launched impeachment proceedings against the country’s president, Sebastián Piñera, on Wednesday, claiming he was involved with alleged irregularities in the 2010 sale of a mining company according to details recently divulged in the Pandora Papers leak.

Demonstrators march with posters depicting Chilean President Sebastian Pinera during a teachers' protest against the government, outside La Moneda presidential palace in Santiago, on October 13, 2021. - Chile's opposition on Wednesday moved to impeach the country's president, Sebastian Pinera, for the controversial sale of a mining company through a …

Indigenous Groups Blockade Peruvian Mines

An indigenous group said on Wednesday it will “indefinitely” block a key mining road in the Espinar province of Peru until its demands are met. Peruvian President Pedro Castillo quickly sacked his prime minister in response to the blockade, while his government announced a deal to satisfy another indigenous group that has been blocking a Chinese-owned mine.

Peru's leftist presidential candidate Pedro Castillo, pictured June 25, 2021, took a majority of votes according to the unconfirmed count

Lawsuit: Apple, Google, Tesla Profit from African Child Labor

A slew of high-tech companies including Apple, Google, and Tesla are being sued by a group of Congolese families whose children allegedly died or were severely injured while mining cobalt that is used to produce lithium-ion batteries found in smartphones and electric cars.

Apple's bombshell and the trillion-dollar question (AFP)