The US activity in Africa over the continent’s rich resources

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A rough estimation of the African continent accounts for about a third of all the natural resources of the world, which greater part of the resources in the territory of the south of the Sahara, hasn’t been touched. This applies to both minerals that are common in other regions of the world, such as oil, gas, coal, and those that are found mainly in Africa and almost anywhere else.

The most important example of the resources is the metal Coltan – columbite-tantalite, indispensable in modern industry in the production of electronic equipment or more precisely, electrolytes. About 80% of its reserves are located in Africa, primarily in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

The biggest producer of bauxite, the element for the production of aluminum, is The Republic of Guinea, where, according to various estimates, from 30 to 40% of all world reserves are concentrated, and another 7–9% in Cameroon and Mali. 

Most of the world’s diamonds are also mined in Africa. Botswana is in second place in the world after Russia for their production, and the top ten countries also include Namibia, Angola, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, and Sierra Leone. The two non-regional countries that produce diamonds as well are Canada and Australia.

US activity in Africa

According to current projections, in the 2030s, Africa will become almost an exclusive global strategic reserve of sources of raw materials. For example, types that have military-strategic significance and are indispensable in defense technologies. 

Already, without the use of some types of non-ferrous and rare metals, the production of modern military products is technologically impossible and the dependence of the US military-industrial complex on imports from some countries of Tropical sub-Saharan Africa exceeds 50% and 75% in cobalt.

Knowing this, the Americans were concerned in advance about obtaining unhindered access to African raw materials. Back in the mid-1990s, in a protest in Washington, the US-based companies American Mineral Fields and Barrick Gold gained control of the coltan and cobalt deposits in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 

At a time the east of this country was occupied by factions closely associated with Rwanda and Uganda, the Americans supplied the authorities of these countries with weapons in exchange for assistance in developing the mineral wealth of the region. An interesting fact is that the board of directors of both companies included former US President George Bush Sr.

The Clinton family is also closely associated with Africa-based businesses. In 2007, the Swedish-Canadian firm Lundin Group, which at that time worked in Congo, Sudan, and Ethiopia and had a very mixed reputation in terms of involvement in several episodes of fraud. They transferred $100 million to the Clinton Foundation to promote the candidature of Hillary Clinton, in the 2008 US presidential election.

Such sacrifice did not go unanswered. In 2010, as Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton ensured that Kinshasa canceled the decision to nationalize the mines controlled by the Lundin Group. It is well known that American companies Apple, Intel, and Motorola, perhaps and unintentionally, are buying raw materials from DR Congo for the manufacture of smartphones and laptops, which are often referred to as “conflict or bloody minerals.” 

Continue reading: The US activity in Africa over the continent’s rich resources