Social and Local Governance Issues

The Ambatovy mine, located near Moramanga and spanning 1,600 hectares of lateritic deposits, has been Madagascar's mining powerhouse since operations began in 2007. With depths of 20-100 meters, it extracts nickel and cobalt, transporting ore via a 220 km slurry pipeline to Toamasina for refining into 99.9% pure briquettes . Employing 10,000 people—90% Malagasy—it contributes significantly to the economy,...

In the mineral-rich provinces of the DRC, the pursuit of clean energy has inadvertently perpetuated a cycle of exploitation. Cobalt, vital for lithium-ion batteries, powers the world's shift away from fossil fuels, but its extraction often relies on artisanal mining where child labor thrives. According to a 2025 Humanium report, an estimated 40,000 children work in these mines, facing...

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) stands as a global powerhouse in critical minerals, producing around 70-80% of the world's cobalt essential for electric vehicles and electronics . However,...

The Eastern Mediterranean's Levantine Basin, estimated to hold 3,450 bcm of natural gas and 1.7 billion barrels of oil, has become a hotspot for energy geopolitics . Discovered in...

The Democratic Republic of Congo holds over 70% of the world's cobalt reserves, essential for electric vehicle batteries, yet its people endure widespread poverty amid foreign-dominated mining. Glencore, a...

The term "blood minerals" evokes the dark underbelly of the DRC's resource curse, where riches like cobalt, coltan, tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold fund endless cycles of violence. Eastern...

Introduction: Navigating the Lithium Landscape Lithium, often hailed as the white gold of the 21st century, is at the forefront of the global shift towards sustainable energy. With its crucial...