Category: critical minerals

South Korea Joins US-Led Mineral Security Alliance, Aims to Curb Chinese Dominance in Critical Minerals Supply

South Korea has announced its participation in the U.S.-led Minerals Security Partnership (MSP) to cut its heavy reliance on Chinese mineral and raw materials imports. The announcement of joining the MSP came shortly after South Korea’s decision in May to participate in the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF). IPEF outlines the United States’ key priorities…


Pro-Beijing Disinformation Operation Targets Western Mining Firms

A pro-Beijing online influence campaign, known as Dragonbridge, has targeted major Australian, U.S., and Canadian rare earth miners who pose a threat to China’s dominance of supply chains for the precious resource. U.S. cybersecurity firm Mandiant has been tracking Dragonbridge since June 2019, revealing that the group comprised a network of “thousands of inauthentic accounts”…


Pro-Beijing Disinformation Operation Targets Western Rare Earth Mining Firms

A pro-Beijing online influence campaign, known as Dragonbridge, has targeted major Australian, U.S., and Canadian rare earth miners who pose a threat to China’s dominance of supply chains for the precious resource. U.S. cybersecurity firm Mandiant has been tracking Dragonbridge since June 2019, revealing that the group comprised a network of “thousands of inauthentic accounts”…


Pro-Beijing Disinformation Operators Target Australian, US Rare Earth Mining Firms

A pro-Beijing online influence campaign, known as Dragonbridge, has targeted major Australian, U.S., and Canadian rare earth miners who pose a threat to China’s dominance of supply chains for the precious resource. U.S. cybersecurity firm Mandiant has been tracking Dragonbridge since June 2019, revealing that the group comprised a network of “thousands of inauthentic accounts”…


Pro-Beijing Disinformation Operators Target Australian, US, Canadian Rare Earth Miners

A pro-Beijing online influence campaign, known as Dragonbridge, has targeted major Australian, U.S., and Canadian rare earth miners who pose a threat to China’s dominance of supply chains for the precious resource. U.S. cybersecurity firm Mandiant has been tracking Dragonbridge since June 2019, revealing that the group comprised a network of “thousands of inauthentic accounts”…


Chinese Giant Attempts to Muscle in on Australian Miner’s Lithium Project

Australian company, AVZ Minerals, is locked in a legal battle with one of China’s largest miners, Zijin Mining, over an ownership stake that could determine control of one of the world’s largest lithium deposits located in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This is not the first challenge Australian miners have faced from competing Chinese interests…


Clean Energy, Critical Minerals Can Be Produced Domestically: Former Energy Official

There is no need to choose between environmental protection and producing clean energy at low cost, as both can be achieved, said Alex Fitzsimmons, former deputy assistant secretary in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy during the Trump administration. “The U.S. is the number one reducer of CO2 [carbon dioxide] emissions in the world….


Chinese Firm to Acquire 13 Percent of Canadian Lithium Company for $5 Million

A Chinese firm that specializes in industrial explosives is planning to acquire an over 10 percent stake in a Canadian lithium company for $5 million. On April 17, China-based company Sichuan Yahua Industrial Group Co. Ltd announced its plan to acquire 13.2 percent of Ultra Lithium Inc., a Vancouver-based lithium and gold exploration firm, through its…


Australia Funds Critical Mineral Projects to Break China Reliance

The Australian federal government announced $243 million (US$176 million) in funding for four critical mineral refining projects to break the country’s near full reliance on China for the products. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the projects, that are expected to create over 3,400 jobs, were key to securing domestic manufacturing in Australia. “These projects are…


Finalized Critical Mineral List Excludes Helium, Uranium, Other Minerals on 2018 List

Over objections from GOP lawmakers, the Department of the Interior has published a finalized critical mineral list that omits helium, uranium, potash, and other minerals that were on the original 2018 list, which was published in response to then-President Trump’s 2017 executive order. The Department had solicited comments on its draft list, released in November…