New US programme targets rare minerals needs for EVs and solar panels

When a top Biden administration official was in Cape Town for a mining conference last month, he heard from a number of African nations desperate for foreign investment to help dig up critical minerals like lithium, manganese and cobalt. At the same time, Under Secretary of State Jose Fernandez said, mining companies told him that they were reluctant to invest in some key resource-rich countries because of poor governance standards and a lack of transparency.