Latest news with #minerals
Zawya
2 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
African Mining Week 2025 to host Invest in Angola's mining sector forum
CAPE TOWN, South Africa,/ -- The African Mining Week (AMW) conference - Africa's premier event for the mining sector, scheduled for October 1–3, 2025 in Cape Town – will feature a dedicated session titled Invest in Angola's Mining Sector, sharing insight into the vast investment opportunities across the country's mineral landscape. The session will showcase the immense, untapped potential of Angola's diverse mineral resources, providing investors with strategic insights and actionable pathways to capitalize on this burgeoning market. Rich in a variety of minerals, including diamonds, copper, gold, lithium, rare earths and more, Angola offers significant growth opportunities for mining companies. As such, the Angolan session seeks to unlock these opportunities by connecting stakeholders under the broader event theme: From Extraction to Beneficiation: Unlocking Africa's Mineral Wealth. African Mining Week serves as a premier platform for exploring the full spectrum of mining opportunities across Africa. The event is held alongside the African Energy Week: Invest in African Energies 2025 conference from October 1-3 in Cape Town. Sponsors, exhibitors and delegates can learn more by contacting sales@ In the diamond sector, the session will provide insight into strategic investment opportunities. A global leader in diamond production, Angola already presents a compelling investment case, backed by over 732 million carats of untapped diamond reserves valued at more than $140 billion. The country is pursuing both upstream expansion and downstream beneficiation. Key developments include a new pilot production and processing facility at Luachimba, launched by ENDIAMA - the national diamond company - and ongoing feasibility studies at the Xamacanda site. Global mining firm De Beers is also advancing exploration across eight new diamond project targets. AMW will link these promising projects with global investors and strategic partners, in line with Angola's ambitions to leverage its diamond wealth for sustainable economic growth. Beyond diamonds, Angola is making substantial strides in its critical minerals sector as part of its long-term strategy to become a leading exporter of processed critical minerals - essential for the global energy transition. The government has identified 34 critical minerals, with key projects like Pensana's Longonjo Rare Earth Project driving the market expansion. In March 2025, Pensana secured $268 million in funding to begin phase one of development. The project will enable Angola to supply 5% of the world's high-grade rare earth carbonate, significantly boosting its role in the global rare earth sector. AMW will make a strong case for Angolan critical minerals, providing a platform where partners, investors and mining corporation can engage and sign deals. Meanwhile, AMW 2025 will bring together global stakeholders to explore Angola's copper, lithium and manganese landscape. The country is advancing projects in these industries and new investment would fuel growth even further. China's Shining Star is set to begin commercial production at its 40-million-ton Mavoio-Tetelo copper project in northern Angola in 2025, while Ivanhoe Mines is undertaking extensive copper exploration. Mining companies Tyranna Resources and ST New Materials are unlocking new frontiers in lithium and manganese, while Rio Tinto is exploring for base metals under an agreement signed in 2024. These efforts underscore increasing international interest in Angola's critical mineral potential. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power. SOURCE Energy Capital & Power
CNN
2 days ago
- Business
- CNN
What are rare earth minerals, and why are they central to Trump's trade war?
The US trade war with China has a major sticking point: rare earths minerals. Last month, President Donald Trump said the United States needed Greenland 'very badly,' renewing his threat to annex the Danish territory. Greenland is a resource-rich island with a plentiful supply of critical minerals, a category that also includes rare earths elements, under its ice sheet. Trump also signed a 'rare earth deal' with Ukraine. The tussle over rare earths precedes the current administration. China for years has built up near-total control of the materials as part of its wider industrial policy. Here's what you need to know about rare earths. Rare earths are 17 metallic elements in the periodic table made up of scandium, yttrium and the lanthanides. The name 'rare earths' is a bit of a misnomer, as the materials are found throughout the Earth's crust. They are more abundant than gold, but they are difficult and costly to extract and process, and also environmentally damaging. Rare earths are ubiquitous in the technologies we rely on every day, from smartphones to wind turbines to LED lights and flat-screen TVs. They're also crucial for batteries in electric vehicles as well as MRI scanners and cancer treatments. Rare earths are also essential for the US military. They're used in F-35 fighter jets, submarines, lasers, satellites, Tomahawk missiles and more, according to a 2025 research note from CSIS. The International Energy Agency said 61% of mined rare earth production comes from China, and the country controls 92% of the global output in the processing stage. There's two types of rare earths, categorized by their atomic weights: heavy and light. Heavy rare earths are more scarce, and the United States doesn't have the capabilities for the tough task of separating rare earths after extraction. 'Until the start of the year, whatever heavy rare earths we did mine in California, we still sent to China for separation,' Gracelin Baskaran, director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told CNN. However, the Trump administration's announcement of sky-high tariffs on China in April derailed this process. 'China has shown a willingness to weaponize' America's reliance on China for rare earths separation, she said. The US has one operational rare earth mine in California, according to Baskaran. On Friday, Trump said on Truth Social that China violated a trade truce put in place last month. Beijing has kept its export controls on seven rare earth minerals and associated products, which were seen as a response to Trump's 'reciprocal tariffs' on Chinese goods announced in April. After agreeing on the truce in Geneva, US officials had expected China to ease export restrictions on those minerals. The export controls could have a major impact, since the US is heavily reliant on China for rare earths. Between 2020 and 2023, 70% of US imports of rare earth compounds and metals came from the country, according to a US Geological Survey report. Beyond China, rare earths are also featured in US foreign policy objectives with Ukraine, Greenland and Saudi Arabia. 'Ukraine is a very, very nascent mining industry, and even though it was a part of the conversation, we don't actually have a mapping of what's economically viable,' Baskaran said. CNN's Nectar Gan and John Liu contributed to this report.
Zawya
2 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
African Mining Week (AMW) 2025 to Host Invest in Angola's Mining Sector Forum
The African Mining Week (AMW) conference - Africa's premier event for the mining sector, scheduled for October 1–3, 2025 in Cape Town – will feature a dedicated session titled Invest in Angola's Mining Sector, sharing insight into the vast investment opportunities across the country's mineral landscape. The session will showcase the immense, untapped potential of Angola's diverse mineral resources, providing investors with strategic insights and actionable pathways to capitalize on this burgeoning market. Rich in a variety of minerals, including diamonds, copper, gold, lithium, rare earths and more, Angola offers significant growth opportunities for mining companies. As such, the Angolan session seeks to unlock these opportunities by connecting stakeholders under the broader event theme: From Extraction to Beneficiation: Unlocking Africa's Mineral Wealth. African Mining Week serves as a premier platform for exploring the full spectrum of mining opportunities across Africa. The event is held alongside the African Energy Week: Invest in African Energies 2025 conference from October 1-3 in Cape Town. Sponsors, exhibitors and delegates can learn more by contacting sales@ In the diamond sector, the session will provide insight into strategic investment opportunities. A global leader in diamond production, Angola already presents a compelling investment case, backed by over 732 million carats of untapped diamond reserves valued at more than $140 billion. The country is pursuing both upstream expansion and downstream beneficiation. Key developments include a new pilot production and processing facility at Luachimba, launched by ENDIAMA - the national diamond company - and ongoing feasibility studies at the Xamacanda site. Global mining firm De Beers is also advancing exploration across eight new diamond project targets. AMW will link these promising projects with global investors and strategic partners, in line with Angola's ambitions to leverage its diamond wealth for sustainable economic growth. Beyond diamonds, Angola is making substantial strides in its critical minerals sector as part of its long-term strategy to become a leading exporter of processed critical minerals - essential for the global energy transition. The government has identified 34 critical minerals, with key projects like Pensana's Longonjo Rare Earth Project driving the market expansion. In March 2025, Pensana secured $268 million in funding to begin phase one of development. The project will enable Angola to supply 5% of the world's high-grade rare earth carbonate, significantly boosting its role in the global rare earth sector. AMW will make a strong case for Angolan critical minerals, providing a platform where partners, investors and mining corporation can engage and sign deals. Meanwhile, AMW 2025 will bring together global stakeholders to explore Angola's copper, lithium and manganese landscape. The country is advancing projects in these industries and new investment would fuel growth even further. China's Shining Star is set to begin commercial production at its 40-million-ton Mavoio-Tetelo copper project in northern Angola in 2025, while Ivanhoe Mines is undertaking extensive copper exploration. Mining companies Tyranna Resources and ST New Materials are unlocking new frontiers in lithium and manganese, while Rio Tinto is exploring for base metals under an agreement signed in 2024. These efforts underscore increasing international interest in Angola's critical mineral potential. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital&Power.
CNN
2 days ago
- Business
- CNN
What are rare earth minerals, and why are they central to Trump's trade war?
The US trade war with China has a major sticking point: rare earths minerals. Last month, President Donald Trump said the United States needed Greenland 'very badly,' renewing his threat to annex the Danish territory. Greenland is a resource-rich island with a plentiful supply of critical minerals, a category that also includes rare earths elements, under its ice sheet. Trump also signed a 'rare earth deal' with Ukraine. The tussle over rare earths precedes the current administration. China for years has built up near-total control of the materials as part of its wider industrial policy. Here's what you need to know about rare earths. Rare earths are 17 metallic elements in the periodic table made up of scandium, yttrium and the lanthanides. The name 'rare earths' is a bit of a misnomer, as the materials are found throughout the Earth's crust. They are more abundant than gold, but they are difficult and costly to extract and process, and also environmentally damaging. Rare earths are ubiquitous in the technologies we rely on every day, from smartphones to wind turbines to LED lights and flat-screen TVs. They're also crucial for batteries in electric vehicles as well as MRI scanners and cancer treatments. Rare earths are also essential for the US military. They're used in F-35 fighter jets, submarines, lasers, satellites, Tomahawk missiles and more, according to a 2025 research note from CSIS. The International Energy Agency said 61% of mined rare earth production comes from China, and the country controls 92% of the global output in the processing stage. There's two types of rare earths, categorized by their atomic weights: heavy and light. Heavy rare earths are more scarce, and the United States doesn't have the capabilities for the tough task of separating rare earths after extraction. 'Until the start of the year, whatever heavy rare earths we did mine in California, we still sent to China for separation,' Gracelin Baskaran, director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told CNN. However, the Trump administration's announcement of sky-high tariffs on China in April derailed this process. 'China has shown a willingness to weaponize' America's reliance on China for rare earths separation, she said. The US has one operational rare earth mine in California, according to Baskaran. On Friday, Trump said on Truth Social that China violated a trade truce put in place last month. Beijing has kept its export controls on seven rare earth minerals and associated products, which were seen as a response to Trump's 'reciprocal tariffs' on Chinese goods announced in April. After agreeing on the truce in Geneva, US officials had expected China to ease export restrictions on those minerals. The export controls could have a major impact, since the US is heavily reliant on China for rare earths. Between 2020 and 2023, 70% of US imports of rare earth compounds and metals came from the country, according to a US Geological Survey report. Beyond China, rare earths are also featured in US foreign policy objectives with Ukraine, Greenland and Saudi Arabia. 'Ukraine is a very, very nascent mining industry, and even though it was a part of the conversation, we don't actually have a mapping of what's economically viable,' Baskaran said. CNN's Nectar Gan and John Liu contributed to this report.
CNN
2 days ago
- Business
- CNN
What are rare earth minerals, and why are they central to Trump's trade war?
The US trade war with China has a major sticking point: rare earths minerals. Last month, President Donald Trump said the United States needed Greenland 'very badly,' renewing his threat to annex the Danish territory. Greenland is a resource-rich island with a plentiful supply of critical minerals, a category that also includes rare earths elements, under its ice sheet. Trump also signed a 'rare earth deal' with Ukraine. The tussle over rare earths precedes the current administration. China for years has built up near-total control of the materials as part of its wider industrial policy. Here's what you need to know about rare earths. Rare earths are 17 metallic elements in the periodic table made up of scandium, yttrium and the lanthanides. The name 'rare earths' is a bit of a misnomer, as the materials are found throughout the Earth's crust. They are more abundant than gold, but they are difficult and costly to extract and process, and also environmentally damaging. Rare earths are ubiquitous in the technologies we rely on every day, from smartphones to wind turbines to LED lights and flat-screen TVs. They're also crucial for batteries in electric vehicles as well as MRI scanners and cancer treatments. Rare earths are also essential for the US military. They're used in F-35 fighter jets, submarines, lasers, satellites, Tomahawk missiles and more, according to a 2025 research note from CSIS. The International Energy Agency said 61% of mined rare earth production comes from China, and the country controls 92% of the global output in the processing stage. There's two types of rare earths, categorized by their atomic weights: heavy and light. Heavy rare earths are more scarce, and the United States doesn't have the capabilities for the tough task of separating rare earths after extraction. 'Until the start of the year, whatever heavy rare earths we did mine in California, we still sent to China for separation,' Gracelin Baskaran, director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told CNN. However, the Trump administration's announcement of sky-high tariffs on China in April derailed this process. 'China has shown a willingness to weaponize' America's reliance on China for rare earths separation, she said. The US has one operational rare earth mine in California, according to Baskaran. On Friday, Trump said on Truth Social that China violated a trade truce put in place last month. Beijing has kept its export controls on seven rare earth minerals and associated products, which were seen as a response to Trump's 'reciprocal tariffs' on Chinese goods announced in April. After agreeing on the truce in Geneva, US officials had expected China to ease export restrictions on those minerals. The export controls could have a major impact, since the US is heavily reliant on China for rare earths. Between 2020 and 2023, 70% of US imports of rare earth compounds and metals came from the country, according to a US Geological Survey report. Beyond China, rare earths are also featured in US foreign policy objectives with Ukraine, Greenland and Saudi Arabia. 'Ukraine is a very, very nascent mining industry, and even though it was a part of the conversation, we don't actually have a mapping of what's economically viable,' Baskaran said. CNN's Nectar Gan and John Liu contributed to this report.
