Fortune Minerals : COBALT NEWS

South China Morning Post - April 24, 2021

Beijing has more options on where to source its crude these days, but is still reliant on Africa for its copper, cobalt and other rare ...

, analysts say. But what Beijing does still need from Africa is copper, cobalt and other rare minerals, according to Mark Bohlund, a senior

The visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) earlier this year was indicative of a shift in Beijing's lending and investment focus for Africa, according to analysts…During his trip to Kinshasa in January, Wang promised that Beijing would write off loans to the Central African nation worth about US$28 million to help it deal with the impact of Covid-19 and provide US$17 million in other financial support…He said also that China would fund infrastructure projects in the DRC, as it became the 45th country to sign up to the Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing's grand plan to boost interconnectivity and trade around the world…But what Beijing does still need from Africa is copper, cobalt and other rare minerals, according to Mark Bohlund, a senior analyst at REDD Intelligence…'This is one reason to expect China's engagement in Africa to shift towards the Democratic Republic of Congo,' he said in a research report…The DRC is the world's largest producer of cobalt, which is an essential component of batteries for electric vehicles, as well as smartphones, tablets and laptops…According to the CARI, while the DRC received only US$2.7 billion worth of Chinese loans between 2000 and 2019, the total value of Chinese foreign direct investments in the country was US$5.6 billion as of 2019…'As a result of these transactions, a substantial part of the Congolese mining sector, which is mainly located in the east and southeast parts of the country, is now in Chinese hands,' the REDD report said…Caspar Rawles, head of price assessments at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence in London, said Chinese companies were becoming more active in the DRC…China Molybdenum, which owned the world's second-largest cobalt mine in the DRC, recently bought the as yet undeveloped Kisanfu resource from Freeport McMoRan for US$550 million, while other Chinese firms like Huayou Cobalt, Chengtun Mining, Wanbao and CNMC were also active there, he said.