Mining News & Analysis
Undermined: The Cost of a US-Canada Mining Decoupling
Tariffs, regulatory divergence, and retaliatory measures are introducing the possibility of a broader mining decoupling between Canada and the United States, creating new sources of operational and financial risk.
Supreme Court Ruling Lands a Blow against Mining Interests in Panama
The ruling against First Quantum Minerals is being heralded as a victory for environmental rights and people power.
Troubled Waters: The Geopolitics of Deep-Sea Mining
Deep-sea mining could revolutionize extraction of battery metals, and exacerbate longstanding geopolitical tensions in the process.
Critical Minerals: Global Lithium Supply
New energy paradigms demand new strategic commodities. This article examines factors impacting lithium supply over the next decade.
Mining Firms Brace for 2021 Peru Election Result
Voters in Peru face an existential decision this weekend, one that many never asked for in the first place.
Testing Europe’s Mettle: The EU’s Raw Materials Alliance
Is the EU’s quest for self-sufficiency in key raw material inputs a case of wishful thinking?
Greenland: A New Frontier of Great Power Competition
In opening its doors to foreign investors, an independence-minded Greenland could be ushering in a new era of geopolitical competition in the Arctic.
Uranium in Niger: When a Blessing Becomes a Curse
Niger has the world’s fourth-largest uranium reserves, and not much to show for it.
2018 Ethnic Clashes in DR Congo
Renewed violence between the Hema and Lendu tribes is drawing disturbing parallels to one of the bloodiest wars in Africa’s history.
Adani Scandal Threatens Australia’s Carmichael Coal Mine
Adani’s renewed scandal and financing challenges are calling the future of one of the world’s largest new coal mines into question.
Cobalt Draws Reluctant Carmakers Back to a Wobbly DRC
Spiking demand for cobalt is taking electric vehicle manufacturers to one of the riskiest operating environments in Africa.
The DRC Sliding Back into Crisis in 2017
A simmering political crisis in the DRC risks civil war and disintegration in the long-suffering African state.
Interview: PDAC’s Andrew Cheatle on the Canadian Mining Industry
Geopoliticalmonitor.com sits down with Andrew Cheatle, Executive Director of the Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC).
Canadian Miners on the Road to Accountability
Recent developments in Ottawa and the courts count as a step towards establishing a culture of accountability for Canadian mining companies operating abroad.
Japan Courts Give Hope to Uranium Miners
Uranium mining executives were at a higher risk for heart attacks this month after two Japanese courts ruled on the restart of nuclear reactors in the country.
Amid Uncertainty, Miners Await New Regulations in Burkina Faso
The shutdown of Pan African Minerals’ manganese mine at Tambao has some mining companies on edge ahead of new regulations in Burkina Faso. Yet new laws could well be a boon for the industry.
Mongolia-Rio Tinto Impasse: Could it be Over?
Will the impasse between the Mongolian government and major mining firm Rio Tinto over the massive gold-copper Oyu Tolgoi mine finally be resolved, and as early as this month?
Map: Major Oil & Mineral Concessions in Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s vast resource wealth is supposed to take over the reins of economic development when foreign aid dries up. But three of the biggest joint ventures in the country’s mineral and energy sectors suggest that this won’t be the case.
Mongolia: The Future of Eurasia?
As Vladimir Putin fights ferociously to keep Western institutions out of former Soviet states in Eastern Europe, mineral-rich Mongolia on Russia’s southeast border faces a similar dilemma with different actors.
South African Government Keeps Mining Industry on Edge
All of South Africa’s political ills are weakening its position at the bargaining table, and may cost it billions in rand in the end.