On September 13, 2023, according to a report by the Global Times, in order to "get rid of dependence", the United States is planning to cooperate with Saudi Arabia, allowing Saudi Arabia, a big tyrant, to buy shares in critical minerals in African countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and then the United States will buy them. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has discussed with the United States that it hopes to build a factory to process mineral resources into batteries and sell them directly, rather than just selling resources, after all, selling batteries can make more money than selling resources.
But at this point, the problem becomes. If the United States wants to buy mines, it can't just buy them, so why does it have to find Saudi Arabia?If the mine is really bought by the United States, will the new energy industry of a large eastern country be stuck?Hello everyone, audience, I am a decryption dog, in this issue**Decryption dog, I will talk to the audience about the outrageous operations and grievances surrounding the key minerals of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Long press the like button and we'll start right away!
The DRC not only has mines, but also rich mines, and this rich mine is very critical for the new energy industry, and this kind of mine is cobalt. Cobalt is mainly used in the battery field, and the global cobalt production in 2022 is 1980,000 tons, and the demand for cobalt is almost the same as production, and it will soon reach a level where supply exceeds demand. Batteries alone use up 70% of the total amount of cobalt, and the electric vehicle industry alone can eat up 40% of the total use. In terms of reserves, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) accounts for more than 50% of the world, and the output in 2022 alone accounts for 73% of the world. So how much of China's cobalt reserves account for the world?Only a pitiful 1%. Therefore, to put it a little exaggerated, whoever can control the cobalt mines in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) will be able to seize the lifeline of the new energy industry. So whose hands is its cobalt mine?
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has been a Belgian colony since 1908, and the FTM mining area that produces the most cobalt is naturally controlled by a Belgian company. After independence, the commander-in-chief of the DRC's army took over power in a coup d'état and became a ** five years later, who nationalized the FTM mining area in name but in fact became his personal cash cow. His deeds are like thunder, this person is one of the three tyrants of Africa, the "invincible warrior", "the rooster that has never lost", "leopard **" Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Nbundu wa Za Banga. The dream linkage twin chefs are ecstatic, right?
Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Nbundu wa Za Banga.
Later, the FTM mine changed hands several times, and 80% of the shares were held by two companies, 56% by a U.S. group called Freeport-McMoRan (hereinafter referred to as Freeport), 24% by a Canadian company called Lundin Mining, and the remaining 20% by the DRC state-owned mining company. The cobalt reserves are only 0For 7% of the United States, such a situation is obviously too good to be better, but this free port is not very peaceful, always trying to stud a hand, but the step is too big and pulls.
The 2008 financial crisis hit the world enormously, and oil prices were a barometer of that. On July 14, 2008, ** hit 147The all-time high of $27 fell to 33 half a year later on January 21, 20092 USD. By 2012, Freeport felt that the financial crisis had passed, and the global economy was about to usher in a wave of growthSo on December 6, 2012, it spent $20 billion to acquire a large number of oil assets, becoming "the number one natural resources company in the United States", and the price of oil was 86 on the same day$34.
In 2014, something happened in Crimea, and oil prices quickly fell sharply from the early $100 to less than $30 in 2016. The ** assets that Freeport bought for astronomical amounts of money have not made much money, and they have lost so much that even its own mother can't recognize it. Now, there is no way to do it in Freeport, see what you can sell at a good price, then sell it quickly. As a result, the cobalt and copper-producing FTM mining areas of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) were put on the shelves.
At that time, CMOC, a large eastern country, was the highest bidder, but Freeport was only the largest shareholder in the FTM mining area, and if it wanted to sell its shares, other shareholders such as the second largest shareholder, Lunding Mining, which accounted for 24% of the shares, would definitely have the right of first refusal. In order to be able to buy this 80% of the shares, CMOC spent 26US$500 million acquired Freeport's 56% stake in the FTM tenement, followed by an exclusive right to purchase a 24% stake in Lunding Mining in 2017. Speaking of which, the question arises again: how can the United States watch a certain eastern power buy cobalt ore from it, and how did the exclusive right to buy shares in Lundin Mining come about?
The answer to the first question has to be found by Trump. As we all know, Trump attaches great importance to traditional fossil energy, and new energy can't get into his eyes at all, he himself said so, the only thing that likes the pure electric cycling industry is the trailer company, because after 49 minutes of driving, the car will run out of power, and then you can only call the trailer company. Therefore, CMOC's business went very smoothly, and no one cared about it at all.
So who should you turn to for the answer to the second question?In 2013, a private ** company called Bohai Huamei was established, and when CMOC acquired the largest shareholder of FTM mining area, that is, 56% of the shares held by Freeport, Freeport said to Lunding Mining, either I will not sell CMOC and sell it to you, or you will sell your shares to others and don't get in my way. Lundin Mining had no choice but to be forced to ** the remaining 24% shares, and the buyer was this Bohai Huamei, Bohai Huamei signed an agreement with CMOC in 2017 after buying, and gave the exclusive right to purchase the 24% shares to CMOC, and in 2019, CMOC spent 11Bought $3.6 billion and became the largest shareholder of the FTM mine, accounting for 80% of the shares. Then this is strange, why did this little-known company, which has only been established for three years, successfully acquire, and why did CMOC wait like a licking dog after the acquisition?
I don't know why, but we can take a look at this Bohai beauty. It is jointly funded by the capital of a large eastern country and an investment advisory agency called RSP in the United States, there are three founders of this RSP, one of whom is a woman, named Teresa Heinz Kerry, this woman is not powerful, the decryption dog is not clear, but her two husbands are very powerful, the first husband is the great-grandson of the founder of Heinz, Heinz, you may not be impressed, but many people must have eaten KFC's small packets of ketchup, that is, produced by Heinz. The first husband died, so she remarried, and the second husband was even more powerful, former US Secretary of State John Kerry.
Teresa Heinz Kree.
The remaining two are good friends and business partners, one of them is called Hunter Biden, why is this person also surnamed Biden?The decryption dog is not very clear, and there is a clear audience master who can hit the answer on the barrage. In short, the shareholder background of Bohai Huamei is very strong, and does such a strong background have anything to do with the acquisition of Lunding Mining?Bohai Huamei later said no, Hunter Biden left Bohai Huamei in 2019 in order to clarify the relationship, you see everyone is gone, it must be no!
In short, in 2019, everything that should be gone and what should not be gone is gone, and all the cobalt shares that can be obtained by a large eastern country have also been obtained. Although there is no answer to why Bohai Huamei was able to acquire the shares of Lunding Mining, the decryption dog suddenly had an urge to say thank you to Trump and Hunter Biden, especially this Hunter Biden, I always feel that he is simply a chivalrous man for the country and the people, and he is a contemporary model of "brushing off his clothes and hiding his merit and fame", I don't know if it's an illusion, eh, do the audience have the same impulse as me?If so, please hit the barrage.
Speaking of which, why did the United States ask Saudi Arabia to buy key minerals from several African countries, the most direct answer must be clear to the audience. If it were me, I'd be embarrassed to jump out and say that I regret it, you sell it back to me, I must find a buddy, let it wash its face and hair, and help me pour a hand clean and refreshing!Then the problem comes again. Why is Saudi Arabia willing to help the United States?
Although oil is abundant and good, Saudi Arabia does not want to sit on the empty side of the era of new energy. It has a Vision 2030 plan, and part of that plan is to make a difference in the field of electric vehicles. For example, in November 2022, Saudi Arabia established the first local electric vehicle brand in Saudi Arabia in a joint venture with Honghai Technology, and for example, Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth** is also the largest shareholder of Lucid, a luxury electric vehicle manufacturer in the United States, and it has been increasing its capital, and in June 2023, Saudi Arabia invested $5.6 billion in Gaohe Automobile, etc.
Therefore, for Saudi Arabia, on the one hand, it must be conducive to the development of its own new energy vehicle industry, and on the other hand, Saudi Arabia has a lot of friendship with the United States, so it is not uncommon for each other to engage in cooperation. So if this thing is really done, will our new energy industry be stuck?
In fact, this matter is not so simple, because although cobalt is very important to the core component of the new energy industry, batteries, but batteries are not only cobalt-contained, such as lithium iron phosphate batteries. We lack cobalt, so lithium iron phosphate batteries are naturally the object of our vigorous development. For example, in 2021, the National Energy Administration made it clear that ternary lithium batteries will no longer be used for energy storage, and as soon as the policy was issued, the market size of lithium iron phosphate in 2022 immediately rose by 535%, reaching 181 billion, which is already 75% of the ternary lithium market containing cobalt8%, according to such a development momentum, lithium iron phosphate will replace ternary lithium to become the leading boss sooner or later.
And our lithium iron phosphate battery is also remarkable in terms of performance, such as the absolute boss of the universe power battery industry CATL released on August 17 is a typical super-rechargeable battery, this battery charging thief fast, according to the official saying is "charging for 10 minutes, 400 kilometers of battery life", although there is still a gap with oil vehicles in terms of battery life, but it has been gradually narrowing.
What's more, the battery is used and wasted, and it canOn December 16, 2022, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology officially announced the list of 41 enterprises that meet the "Industry Standard Conditions for the Comprehensive Utilization of Waste Power Batteries for New Energy Vehicles", and this is already the fourth batch of enterprises, and the four batches of eligible enterprises add up to 84, including many listed companies. Although there are still problems in the entire industry, such as imperfect channels and difficult screening and evaluation, emerging industries will face many problems, and most of the problems will be solved sooner or later.
Therefore, even if the United States and Saudi Arabia get together and buy a lot of mines in Africa, it is certainly unlikely that it will have an impact on us, which is in an absolute leading position, in the short term. Besides, most of the large-scale investment projects or cooperation projects that the United States has engaged in in recent years have been thunderous and rainy, and Saudi Arabia still wants to take ownership of it and do it on its own, and it is not 100% of the same mind with it, so there is nothing to worry about at all.
What's even more annoying is that this kind of behavior is essentially a cocoon and self-restraint?Stuck in our necks on critical minerals, won't it only force our electric vehicle and power battery industry to go one step further, and develop new technologies and new products at night?There are too many such examples, for example, Huawei's new mobile phones recently are equipped with our own SoC chips. On the other hand, if the United States wants to "get rid of dependence," it has to pull in others, and this does not mean that our strength is being recognized in all directions?I'm afraid there's nothing wrong with that!