Posted on 03/15/2022 5:51:34 PM PDT by Libloather
For more than a decade, Chinese companies have spent billions of dollars buying out U.S. and European miners in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s cobalt belt - the world’s richest source of a mineral that has become critical to the global transition to cleaner energy. Now the Chinese firms are running into trouble after a court ordered one of the largest to temporarily cede control of one of its mines.
Just one electric vehicle can require between 10 and 30 pounds of cobalt to build its battery, depending on the manufacturer, though Tesla Inc. and other auto makers are now moving away from the material. Cobalt can boost charge rates and has a stabilizing effect, extending battery life and preventing cathode corrosion that can lead to battery fires.
Congo accounted for 70% of the world’s total output of cobalt last year, with Chinese investors controlling a similar proportion of cobalt production.
Demand is quickly growing, and the U.S. fears being left behind. Earlier this year the Biden administration dispatched a team to the capital, Kinshasa, to meet with Congolese leaders to see how America can secure access to the silvery-gray metal. Daleep Singh, a U.S. deputy national security adviser, criticized what he called “opaque” Chinese mining contracts, and said generations of investors had exploited the Congo’s resources.
Now Congo itself is pressing for a larger slice of the market, pushing back against China’s growing economic footprint in Africa, after a court last week stripped Hong Kong-listed China Molybdenum Co. of management control of its Tenke Fungurume mine. China Molybdenum will have to sit on the sidelines for six months after state miner Gécamines SA accused it of trying to evade millions of dollars in royalty payments by under-declaring reserves.
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
11/20/21 - Hunter Biden's firm helped Chinese company purchase rich cobalt mine in $3.8 billion deal: report
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hunter-biden-firm-chinese-purchase-cobalt-mine
Rep. James Comer wants info on Hunter Biden’s ties to Chinese mine sale
By Juliegrace Brufke
January 19, 2022 5:39pm Updated
House Committee on Oversight and Reform committee Ranking Member Rep. James Comer, R-Ky.
Rep. James Comer, a top House Oversight Committee member, demands to know Hunter Biden’s alleged role in the sale of a cobalt mine to Chinese firm Molybdenum in 2016.
AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File
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The leading Republican on the House Oversight Committee is calling on the National Archives to release any information it has related to Hunter Biden’s alleged involvement in the sale of an African cobalt mine to a Chinese company in 2016.
In a letter to Archivist David Ferriero Wednesday, Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) requested any documents pertaining to the first son’s potential role in the transaction, arguing the sale posed a potential national security threat by undermining the United States’ capacity to invest in green energy. Cobalt is a key component in electric car batteries.
“The American people deserve answers regarding why the Obama Administration —whether at then-Vice President Biden’s behest or not — watched in silence as an American company transferred control of this precious asset to a Chinese conglomerate and why Hunter Biden was — yet again — involved in international matters on which he has no expertise,” Comer wrote.
The complex transaction was first reported by the Washington Free Beacon during the 2020 presidential campaign, and was spotlighted by the New York Times this past November. It resulted in private equity firm BHR Partners being cut in on the $3.8 billion transaction — which transferred 80 percent of the Tenke Fungurume mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo from Arizona-based mining company Freeport-McMoRan to Beijing-backed China Molybdenum.
Hunter Biden, President Joe Biden’s son.
Rep. James Comer has questioned why Hunter Biden was part of this international matter.
Teresa Kroeger/Getty Images for World Food Program USA
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Secret Service ‘hid’ info on Hunter Biden travels, GOP senators claim
Hunter Biden and two other Americans co-founded BHR with several Chinese partners, and the three Americans each controlled 10 percent of the firm at the time of the sale. However, the rest of the company is owned or controlled by Chinese-based investors, including the state-controlled Bank of China.
“The loss of African cobalt mines to the Chinese is a severe blow to the United States’ ability to invest in green technology and lead the world by example,” Comer wrote. “It is potentially a national security threat, and it was a loss orchestrated in no small part by the president’s son.”
“As a 10 percent owner of the firm that brokered a multi-billion-dollar deal, Hunter Biden no doubt made a profit from this massive transaction,” Comer went on. “Unfortunately, such profit has come at great expense to both the United States and the DRC. China has reportedly failed to fulfill its promises to the DRC and established less than adequate safety conditions for mine workers.”
Comer argued that the Obama administration should have intervened to block the sale, claiming that though it was “well aware how important cobalt was about to become to the global economy … it curiously did nothing to intervene in Hunter Biden’s Chinese-backed transaction to facilitate the sale of one of the world’s richest cobalt mines from an American company to a Chinese company.”
Excavators and drillers at work in an open pit at Tenke Fungurume, a copper and cobalt mine 110 km (68 miles) northwest of Lubumbashi in Congo’s copper-producing south.
Tenke Fungurume, a mine in the Democratic Republic of Congo, produces large amounts of cobalt used to develop electric vehicle batteries.
REUTERS/Jonny Hogg//File
The lawmaker requested the Archives hand over any information pertaining to the deal by Feb. 2.
“In this latest episode, Hunter Biden appears to have profited in the short-term directly from America’s long-term loss,” Comer concluded. “While Hunter Biden might not care that his actions have been a boon to the Chinese and a detriment to the United States’ position of leadership on clean energy, Americans do.”
Hunter Biden’s attorney said in November that his client had divested his 10 percent stake in BHR Partners, but offered no further details on the identity of the buyer or the transaction terms.
Remember this, while Hillary was Secretary of State?
“Why Did Congo Offer Clinton $650,000 For Two Pics And A Speech?”
“Congo, one of the poorest nations on Earth, offered former President Bill Clinton a speaking fee of $650,000—a sum equal to annual per-capita income of 2,813 Congolese.”
Lukas Lundin, a Swedish investor who founded Lundin Mining which has substantial operations in Congo donated between $1 million and $5 million to the Clinton Foundation.
Is Gropin’ Joe getting rich from EV sales?
Isn’t interesting that we ha e no idea about the investment portfolios of those in government that are pushing EVs the most? Almost as if they’re using their positions and the power of government gone side their massive profits. Imagine that.
CNt read the whole article. Don’t pay for the noise coming from the WSJ.
However, China….Hunter…..10% for the big guy….blah blah blah
Let’s not all about the 10yr olds slaving away in the mines. Can’t imagine how many kids have died digging out those metals so folks can have a toy car.
Move along...move along...
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