Minerals - the lifeblood of economic development

This is a takeover battle worthy of anyone’s attention. The world demand for metals has made the ownership of mining companies a vital economic and political issue and now the world’s biggest mining group BHP Billiton has made a formal offer for rival firm Rio Tinto in a bid worth $147bn.

For the Chinese, the supply of minerals is part of the lifeblood of her industrialisation and wider economic development. Take iron ore as one example - China is now importing more than 32 million tonnes of the stuff each month, a volume seven times higher than at the start of the decade.

This BBC news av clip by Hugh Pym is excellent as is this article in the Telegraph about China’s serahc for the rights to the world’s supply of crucial minerals. In another feature, Richard Spencer considers the different needs that China has as it emerges as a global economic superpower. China has the economic muscle to use the hundreds of billions of dollars accumulated through her trade surpluses to invest in securing the ownership or rights to the supply of a growing range of minerals and Africa is at the forefront of this new economic battle.

BBC news:

Mining giant bid ignites concerns http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7230358.stm