U.S. Expands African Critical Minerals Investments in Africa to Challenge China’s Dominance
The United States is backing the Ampasindava rare earths project in Madagascar and will help Kenya develop a critical minerals processing industry, according to the reports. The Democratic Republic of the Congo is preparing a one-stop agency for major mining investments as part of reforms linked to its minerals partnership with the U.S. Chinese media warned that emerging mineral deals between the United States and the DRC pose direct challenges to China's mineral domination in Africa.
Why it matters: The reported deals place African critical minerals within the wider competition between the United States and China over supply chains and mineral dominance on the continent.