All of Biden’s (anti-China) metal deals in Africa
The United States has signed a metals deal for batteries with Congo and Zambia, with the aim of creating an electric car supply chain in Africa and countering China. All the details
A week ago, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan announced that Washington intends to allocate $55 billion to Africa over the next three years. The funds will go to "a wide range of sectors to address the fundamental challenges of our time," she explained, such as health, climate change and women's participation in the world of work.
The recently concluded US-Africa Leaders Summit was an opportunity for the United States to relaunch its economic and political presence on the African continent, and thus counter the influence of Russia and (above all) China, its rivals.
BIDEN'S USA WILL INVEST IN METALS IN AFRICA
In this regard, the administration of President Joe Biden has signaled its willingness to invest in the development of metal projects for electric vehicles in Africa, a strategic sector currently dominated by Beijing.
The US State Department has signed a memorandum of understanding with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia for the development of an "electric vehicle value chain". During the signing ceremony, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington would "explore mechanisms for funding and supporting investment in African electric vehicle value chains."
THE IMPORTANCE OF CONGO AND ZAMBIA
Both Congo and Zambia host important deposits of cobalt, a metal used in electric vehicle batteries: the first country – Blinken said – produces more than 70 percent of world supplies, while the second is the second largest African producer (as well as being "the world's sixth largest producer of copper", another metal needed for the energy transition ).
– Read also: Graphite, lithium, nickel and cobalt needed for electric cars. Reports
FIGHTING CHINA IN THE WORLD
Chinese companies own a large part of the cobalt mines in the Congo. The United States, therefore, may want to try to counter Beijing's enormous influence on the market for battery metals. Not only in Africa, however: the Biden administration intends to finance a dozen projects on minerals critical to the ecological transition in the world with public money.
The funds could be distributed through the Minerals Security Partnership , known informally as "NATO of metals", a grouping of allied or partner countries of the United States which aims to build an international supply chain of critical minerals "free" from the influence of Russia and China. Its members include Australia, Canada, South Korea, Japan, the United Kingdom and the European Commission
MINES, REFINERIES AND RECYCLING PLANTS
The projects that will be able to access US or other partnership members' resources concern mining, processing of raw materials and recycling of end-of-life materials. The Development Finance Corporation, a US government agency, is already funding a nickel (a metal for batteries) mining project in Brazil.
Among the companies involved in the plan are several US automakers, such as Ford, General Motors and Tesla, and at least two mining companies, Albemarle and Piedmont Lithium.
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/energia/stati-uniti-metalli-batterie-africa/ on Tue, 20 Dec 2022 15:03:34 +0000.