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Mail & Guardian

Rare Earth Elements

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Injustice: Despite the mining sector’s profitability, host communities see less than 1% of corporate profits. Photo: Chris Louw/Centre for Environmental Rights
ABRAHAM NUNBOGU

Minerals boom but benefits bypass communities

South Africa is positioning itself as a key player in the global race for critical minerals but new research and warnings suggest those closest to extraction might lose out,…

  • Sheree Bega
7 min read
Women and children work at an artisanal cobalt mine in the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Photo: Augustin Wamenya/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
BRAZIL

South Africa’s G20 presidency must rewire the global race for critical minerals

It must champion a new global compact on critical minerals, one that prioritizes beneficiation, environmental protection, fair labour and development justice.

  • Kudakwashe Manjonjo & Karabo Mokgonyana
7 min read
A new case study proposes that, as part of the country’s energy transition, mining-affected communities, like those in Sekhukhune, set up solar farms through cooperatives to generate electricity for their own use.
AFRICA

A new currency backed by minerals? Africa is gambling on its energy transition

The continent must use energy minerals for its development rather than feeding them to industrialised countries

  • Dean Bhekumuzi Bhebhe
4 min read