Europe lines up minerals pacts in Africa

The EU is aiming to diversify suppliers of key resources and to counter China’s massive infrastructure investments in regions including Africa. — Bloomberg

Brussels: The European Union (EU) is finalising partnerships with the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia to boost local industries as the bloc competes with China to secure critical materials for the green and digital sectors.

A planned memorandum of understanding will signal to both governments and the private sector the EU’s backing for developing local value chains given that a big part of the processing of critical materials, including lithium or cobalt, currently takes place in China, people familiar with the matter said.