{"id":1163565,"date":"2020-02-04T08:44:59","date_gmt":"2020-02-04T14:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/?p=1012822"},"modified":"2020-02-04T08:44:59","modified_gmt":"2020-02-04T14:44:59","slug":"russias-comeback-in-africa-favours-profit-over-long-term-influence-analyst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/?p=1163565","title":{"rendered":"Russia\u2019s comeback in Africa favours profit over long-term influence \u2014 analyst"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>While Russia has been playing for power in Africa in recent years by sending arms, offering mercenaries and cinching mining deals, the foundations of Moscow\u2019s claim to renewed global influence are shaky at best, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maplecroft.com\/insights\/analysis\/minerals-for-mercenaries--russia-prioritises-profits-over-long-term-influence-in-africa\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">a new political risks report claims<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div class='d-flex justify-content-center d-xs-block d-sm-block d-md-none'>\n<div id='div-gpt-ad-1561499308230-0'><script>googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1561499308230-0');});<\/script><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The reality, says Daragh<br \/>\nMcDowell, analyst at consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, is that<br \/>\nthe Kremlin is putting profit ahead of power, and is relying on private<br \/>\nmilitary contractors (PMCs) and \u201cpolitical technologists\u201d to project its<br \/>\ninfluence on the world.<\/p>\n<p>Russia, however, can only use such deployments in states with weak democratic and legal norms, and is doing so primarily to secure mineral rights and concessions in exchange for \u201cservices\u201d rendered, &nbsp;McDowell argues.<\/p>\n<p>Such \u201cdeals\u201d are creating a scenario in which Russian claims to a host of resources, many vital for the production of electric batteries and other next-generation technologies, are dependent on governments\u2019 good will that Moscow is ill-equipped to stay in power, the analyst warns.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote alignright\">\n<blockquote>\n<p>Russia&#8217;s incursions into the continent riches have seen state-owned companies targeting key commodities, such as gold, coltan, cobalt and diamonds. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Russia has moved to take advantage<br \/>\nof a desire by African countries \u2014 which, notably, are the largest voting bloc<br \/>\nin the United Nations \u2014 to lessen their reliance on China. The strategy &nbsp;has, so far, worked, even with President<br \/>\nVladimir Putin acknowledging his administration cannot come close to matching<br \/>\nBeijing\u2019s financial firepower.<\/p>\n<p>According to official figures, Russia\u2019s<br \/>\nannual volume of its trade with Africa has doubled to $20 billion over the last<br \/>\nfive years, but that still pales in comparison to the continent\u2019s $300 billion<br \/>\nin trade with the European Union and $60 billion with the United States in<br \/>\n2018.<\/p>\n<p>Moscow\u2019s focus on the continent riches has seen state-owned companies scaling up their activities in the resources sector, particularly in the search and production of coltan, cobalt, gold and diamonds. <\/p>\n<p>In Zimbabwe, for instance, a&nbsp;2018<br \/>\njoint venture between Russia\u2019s JSC Afromet and Zimbabwe\u2019s Pen East began developing<br \/>\none of the world\u2019s largest deposits of platinum group metals. <\/p>\n<p>In Angola, diamond giant Alrosa (MCX:ALRS), the world\u2019s top producer by output, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mining.com\/alrosa-buys-stake-angolas-largest-diamond-deposit-70-million\/\"  rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\" (opens in a new tab)\">increased its stake in local miner Catoca to 41%<\/a>, which provides the Russian company with a production base outside the home country. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Russian-activities-and-concessions-in-Africa-focus-on-weakly-governed-and-corrupt-states-1024x759.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1012827\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Russian-activities-and-concessions-in-Africa-focus-on-weakly-governed-and-corrupt-states-1024x759.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Russian-activities-and-concessions-in-Africa-focus-on-weakly-governed-and-corrupt-states-300x222.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Russian-activities-and-concessions-in-Africa-focus-on-weakly-governed-and-corrupt-states-768x569.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.mining.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Russian-activities-and-concessions-in-Africa-focus-on-weakly-governed-and-corrupt-states.jpg 1036w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<p>Private energy giant Lukoil is<br \/>\nreported to have projects in Cameroon, Ghana and Nigeria and be looking to<br \/>\nacquire a stake in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).<\/p>\n<p>Russia is also offering nuclear<br \/>\npower technology for several African countries, including the construction this<br \/>\nyear of the first nuclear plant in Egypt, financed by a $25-billion loan.<\/p>\n<p>The main risk related to Putin\u2019s<br \/>\nongoing strategy in Africa, McDowell says, is who would own the resources<br \/>\ntargeted by partnerships if local allies give Russia their back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGuinea is an example of the<br \/>\npotential downside for Russia if local allies fail. Prompted by Guinea\u2019s<br \/>\nimportance as a supplier of bauxite for Russian aluminium producer Rusal,<br \/>\nRussian diplomats in the capital, Conakry, have openly supported President<br \/>\nAlpha Cond\u00e9\u2019s efforts to extend his term in office; this has helped fuel months<br \/>\nof increasingly bloody civil unrest,\u201d McDowell notes.<\/p>\n<p>Presidential and legislative<br \/>\nelections in Guinea are due in 2020, and China is also competing with Russia<br \/>\nfor access to its bauxite and iron ore deposits. A scenario could arise, the<br \/>\nanalyst warns, where a new leadership could challenge or reverse mineral deals<br \/>\nagreed by President Cond\u00e9. <\/p>\n<p>At that point, who \u201cowns\u201d Guinean<br \/>\nbauxite or iron ore would become a matter to be disputed globally, with<br \/>\nconsequences to be seen, McDowell concludes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Moscow claims to a host of resources are based on shaky grounds at best, consultancy Verisk Maplecroft says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1035,2849,369],"tags":[43],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1163565"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1163565"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1163565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1163617,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1163565\/revisions\/1163617"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1163565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1163565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/juniorminingnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1163565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}