Who Holds the Treasure Map: Former Colonisers, Aspiring Colonizers, or the Government?

🌐 Belgium has blocked US firm Kobold from accessing colonial‑era geological archives that the Democratic Republic of Congo says it wants.

In a twisted manner of things, raw geological data is now itself a commodity. Whoever controls old maps and drill logs gets a head start on exploration and the prize list that follows.

🔍 On July 17, 2025, a deal was signed between the DRC and KoBold which explicitly aims to provide free public access to historical geoscientific data. The agreement also stipulated that KoBold would deploy a team to the archives held at the Belgian Royal Museum for Central Africa.

Belgian authorities have blocked KoBold's team from accessing the archives, wisely pointing at the fact that the Belgian state cannot have any obligations under a deal which it has never signed.

🖥 The archives are described as a vast collection of maps, reports and technical surveys covering nearly 500 linear meters of documents. For KoBold, which portrays itself as a pioneer of AI-assisted mineral exploration, the historical data represents essential raw material.

➡️Stay informed - @devilsbelow

⚫️The Deepest Mine on Earth⚫️

What do you know about South Africa's own, real-life Khazad-Dûm?

The Mponeng Mine in South Africa is a unique and, in the literal sense, hellish site—a place where technological progress meets economic necessity and hard labor.

🔥 This marvel of engineering plunges 4 kilometers deep, where rock temperatures reach around 60°C. If fantastical plots about awakening some ancient evil buried underground existed in real life, this is where it would happen.

Incidentally, at the bottom of this mine, scientists have already discovered the ultra-rare bacterium Candidatus Desulforudis audaxviator capable of living and reproducing without any contact with the rest of the biosphere.

🧊 It’s clear that labor under such conditions is truly heroic, but fortunately, South African workers have their engineer colleagues to rely on. To make working conditions even slightly more civilized, the mine is laced with a network of pipes delivering tons of ice, mixed with saltwater to cool the air.

But heat isn’t the only problem. As one might guess, gold is extracted from the ore only at the surface — meaning workers don’t just dig downward but must also haul all that ore back up 4 kilometers.

⁉️ According to reports, in the first quarter of 2025, South African miners at Mponeng produced 4,211 kg of gold, meaning they had to extract up to 421,000 tons of rock (with local ore containing about 10 grams of gold per ton).

🎥 What’s fascinating is that Mponeng is just 350 kilometers away from Tolkien’s birthplace, the author of The Lord of the Rings. Fate has delivered an astonishing coincidence—because of all human creations, Mponeng most closely resembles Tolkien’s Moria: a vast underground city-state buried deep within the Misty Mountains of Middle-earth.

✈️ Stay informed - @devilsbelow

How Exactly Do Sudan's RSF Smuggle Gold to the UAE?

Today it's an open secret that Sudan's rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) do systematically sell gold to the UAE so as to finance their activity.

👀 However, many may not know what the RSFs' military mining operations look like in reality — that is, how they extract, collect and transport their gold.

🔸 A significant share thereof comes from an 8 km gold mine in Sudan's North Kordofan State.

📍The mine is located near Jabal al-Zaraf on what is known as the Abu Zaima Road, a vital supply routes for the Rapid Support Forces militia in the Kordofan region.

🔸 Satellite imagery of the mine shows numerous airstrips and cargo planes, some of them heavily damaged, probably as a result of crashes or airstrikes.

The RSF have drilled some 40 shafts at the site — the close proximity of the mines to the runways allows for the unhindered shipment of gold immediately for export.

Credit: Analytics and images from Vista Maps.

✈️ Stay informed - @devilsbelow

🔴Drawing Red Lines🔴

Zimbabwe has just imposed an immediate ban on exports of all raw minerals and lithium concentrates — Why now?

🌐 On Wednesday, the Zimbabwean mines ministry suddenly announced an immediate ban on exports of raw ores and lithium concentrates, citing “malpractices” and export leakages.

⏩Generally speaking, this decision came out of the blue — up to the moment of its announcement by the minister of mines, the official policy was less ambitious: to halt lithium concentrates exports by 2027. No "raw ores" and no "immediately", which is why the current ban was not expected, the processing facilities had no chance to be prepared.

🔸In the official communiqué the mines ministry explicitly sets forth 2 main requirements for corporations willing to resume exports: 1) to get rid of traders, agents and middlemen when selling and exporting minerals; 2) to report on progress in the field of mineral beneficiation.

🔸So, the new ban seems more like a bargaining position, and not a new permanent policy course. The Zim government has long demanded local processing, and in 2025 it even set the aforementioned 2027 deadline for lithium concentrates — however, only one major lithium plant has been built since then.

🔸Besides obscure behind the scenes considerations that can never be ruled out, only the desire to demonstrate the seriousness of the government's demands seems to be a sound explanation of the sudden ban. Probably, as soon as the corporations set out clear timelines for processing build-up, the exports will be resumed.

However, until then the situation also risks triggering massive layoffs — particularly if the government won't show flexibility toward minor companies that cannot afford building a plant of their own. This factor may well be exploited by corporations unwilling to obey the government's demands.

✈️ Stay informed - @devilsbelow

Iran's Role in the Oil World: What Will Happen to Gasoline Prices Worldwide After the Strikes

❗️ Earlier today US President Donald Trump ordered strikes on Iran, escalating the standoff into an all-out military conflict, after he failed nuclear talks. Given Iran's major role in oil production, there's even more to it than violation of international law and flouting of someone else's sovereignty, to which everyone is accustomed now. So, let's get it sorted out.

1️⃣ Iran's economy is about oil and gas. Under strict sanctions, Iran still pumps about 3.3 million barrels a day — two times twice as much as Nigeria — which is equal to 3-4% of global oil supplies. It exports 90% of its crude via Kharg Island, for shipping through the narrow Strait of Hormuz to China.

2️⃣ The Strait of Hormuz itself is another important factor. It handles about a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil trade and some 20% of the trade in oil. Besides, it is the only sea route for the Gulf monarchies' exports.

The shallow depth of the waterway makes ships vulnerable to mines, while the proximity of the strait to the Iranian land leaves vessels open to attack from shore-based missiles or interception by patrol boats and helicopters.

The Iranian government has threatened during previous periods of geopolitical tension to block the strait — however, it has never followed through on its threats yet.

⁉️ The repercussions of today's strikes depend on the severity and duration of the new round of conflict. If the escalation remains limited, leaving shipping and exports intact, oil would likely spike briefly and then stabilize

If any of the sides set about consistently targeting oil infrastructure, the increase in oil prices will be serious and long-lasting. One of Goldman Sachs's leading analysts predicted last week that it would lead to an $8 per barrel price increase.

➡️ Stay informed - @devilsbelow