Why US money may not be enough to break China’s rare earths dominance
Washington aims to spend billions in Africa to build up a strategic reserve of key minerals, but analysts warn it may not be so simple
The United States was out in force in Cape Town this month, throwing down a direct challenge to China at Africa’s biggest mining conference, the Investing in African Mining Indaba.
While Chinese firms showed their technological leadership with automation and green energy solutions, officials from the State Department, the Department of Energy and several US development agencies were among the record number of American diplomats and financiers at the event in South Africa.
Analysts said the US was looking to buy Africa’s critical minerals through financing deals – but it would take more than money to break China’s dominance.
He added that the Indaba – a Zulu and Xhosa word for a conference – illustrated that “Africa’s mineral wealth remains central to global strategic competition, but the extent to which African states can shape it remains complex”.
The visit followed several multibillion-dollar initiatives in what is regarded as Washington’s most aggressive push to secure critical mineral supplies and challenge China, which has a near monopoly on the production and processing of critical and rare earth minerals.