
Zimbabwe Pushes to Refine Its Own Lithium at Home
Zimbabwe lithium is now shipped as processed sulphate, not raw ore, after a $400m Chinese-built plant and an export ban...
June 25, 2026Africa holds the minerals the energy transition cannot happen without: more than two-thirds of the world’s cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo, vast copper in the DRC and Zambia, lithium in Zimbabwe, plus manganese, graphite and the rare earths every great power now wants to control. The Rio Times tracks the mines, deals, export rules and the contest among China, the US and the Gulf for Africa’s critical-minerals supply chain – and what it means for resource-rich Latin America, which faces the same price-taker-or-leverage choice. This hub gathers our coverage of Africa’s minerals economy.

Zimbabwe lithium is now shipped as processed sulphate, not raw ore, after a $400m Chinese-built plant and an export ban...
June 25, 2026
Mozambique graphite output already doubled 2026 forecasts. A $150M Chinese-built plant in Niassa processes 200,000 tonnes yearly, feeding EV battery...
June 25, 2026
DR Congo raised $1.25bn in its first-ever Eurobond, a dual-tranche deal, joining a Sub-Saharan rush back to international debt markets...
June 25, 2026
Africa Intelligence Brief for Wednesday: from a governor's re-election in Nigeria to a coalition power struggle in South Africa and...
June 24, 2026
Ghana gold reserves are set to grow as the central bank asks miners to sell 30% of output, up from...
June 24, 2026
South African platinum output will fall about 15% by 2034, Sibanye says, as slower EV uptake tightens a market supplying...
June 24, 2026
Africa Intelligence Brief for Tuesday: one energy shock split the continent into winners and losers, with oil exporters gaining as...
June 23, 2026
The Datatec special dividend of R7.1 billion follows a General Atlantic refinancing, with founder Jens Montanana set to collect about...
June 23, 2026
Tanzania Russia investment could top $2 billion in five years after President Samia Suluhu Hassan's St Petersburg visit and a...
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