China is winning Africa’s “white-gold” rush for lithium
Its grip on clean-energy minerals is a challenge for the West
A visit to the district of Goromonzi, in north-east Zimbabwe, is a lesson in economic history. Its fallow fields hint at the decay that followed the government’s seizure of white-owned farms more than two decades ago. In the surrounding hills ad hoc campsites reveal the sites of artisanal gold-miners, digging for the same yellow metal that led British colonists to cross the Limpopo river in the 19th century.
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This article appeared in the Middle East & Africa section of the print edition under the headline “Africa’s white-gold rush”
Middle East & Africa November 11th 2023
- Will America pull the plug on Israel’s invasion of Gaza?
- Gaza’s nights are darker now than at any point in the past decade
- All parties are blaming each other for the dire situation in Gaza
- The deadly missile race in the Middle East
- The Gaza war has deepened Joe Biden’s Iran nightmare
- The battle over South Africa’s spicy-chicken market
- China is winning Africa’s “white-gold” rush for lithium
From the November 11th 2023 edition
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West African booze is becoming a luxury product
Female entrepreneurs are leading the charge
First, the ceasefire. Next the Trump effect could upend the Middle East
Will Israel and Donald Trump use the threat of annexation to secure a new grand bargain?
After 15 months of hell, Israel and Hamas sign a ceasefire deal
Donald Trump provided the X factor by putting heat on Binyamin Netanyahu, who insists the war isn’t over yet
A hidden refuge in Sudan that the internet, banks—and war—can’t reach
A visit to the Nuba mountains provides a glimpse into the future of the country
Violent jihadists are getting frustrated by the new Syria
Tipsy dancers, Christmas decorations, Shias and women’s rights are in the crosshairs
America concludes genocide has been committed in Sudan—again
The move highlights the magnitude of Sudan’s civil war but does little to end it