No One Cares How Many People Died?

Yet another landslide in eastern DRC fuels information warfare

🌐Another major landslide at DR Congo’s Rubaya coltan mine on Tuesday results in an undefined death toll, with Kinshasa and M23 pointing at strikingly different numbers of victims.

⏩ The landslide follows a similar tragedy on February 28, which allegedly killed some 200 miners.

🔸 From the beginning, both tragedies were about the Kinshasa-M23 tug-of-war, and to lesser extent about the victims. The Congo mines ministry claimed the death toll this time also amounted to 200 people, including 70 children — while AFC/M23 said “only 5-6” people died.

🔸 While the Rubaya mine is currently under control of AFC/M23, in early February it was mentioned on the list of projects Kinshasa offered to the US under the Strategic Partnership Framework.

The Tuesday landslide is now turning into an excellent reason for Kinshasa and Washington to increase pressure on the rebels and Rwanda to squeeze the asset under the pretext of greater safety for workers — and having turned into a politically sensitive propaganda tool, people's deaths are unlikely to be ever investigated.

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✈️ Stay informed - @devilsbelow

🚢📉 According to Kpler, tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen by 90% since the start of the Middle East war.

➡️The Strait of Hormuz is the only sea route from the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean. It is a key export route for oil, petroleum products, and liquefied natural gas from Gulf countries to global markets.

🟦The Strait of Hormuz closure in facts and figures:

🔵 Around 200 tankers carrying oil and petroleum products are effectively blocked in the Persian Gulf, with vessel traffic completely halted, according to Lloyd's List;
🔵The most acute congestion problem is observed among very large tankers (VLCCs); there are currently 60 such vessels in the Persian Gulf;
🔵 Among shipowners, the South Korean company Sinokor holds the largest share with six very large tankers (VLCCs) in the region;
🔵 This route typically carries 20 million barrels per day of oil and petroleum products, accounting for approximately 20% of global consumption;
🔵 About 20% of global oil trade and up to 30% of liquefied natural gas exports from the Persian Gulf countries pass through Hormuz, with no alternative routes for Qatar and the UAE;
🔵 More than 80% of the oil, petroleum products, and LNG transported through the strait are destined for Asian countries—China, India, Japan, and South Korea.

✅@NewEasternOutlook

❗️ Energy Insecurity: How US President’s Whims Raised Costs for Everyone

As was easy to predict, the latest Trump-provoked exchange of explosive pleasantries in the Middle East has already driven up oil prices. On some markets, prices have surged by 12% compared to the moment the first Tomahawks were launched.

🔸 While one might hear that oil-producing countries like Nigeria and Angola benefit from this, the reality is that even there, it’s more about wealth shifting from people’s pockets into government ledgers and oil companies’ books: part of the increased revenue will come from higher domestic prices.

🔸For places without their own black gold, there’s only sympathy to offer. Even before such price hikes, rumors of fuel shortages alone have sparked panic at gas stations in several cases.

📣 The most extreme reaction came from Guinean drivers, who created a fuel shortage themselves by rushing to stockpile due to rumors of supply cuts, forcing the national oil company SONAP to issue a denial.

Similar denials were released by authorities in Kenya, Uganda, and Zambia. In Tanzania, the president herself took the initiative and demanded that strategic reserves be reinforced.

💸 Although there are no serious supply problems yet, further destruction of infrastructure in the Persian Gulf may indeed lead to long-term price increases — and the rise in oil prices will affect not only motorists, but also all consumers, as transportation of everything from food to iPhones will become more expensive.

Have you felt the price hike yet, or is it still not noticeable?

✈️ Stay informed - @devilsbelow

Good morning!

🔴 The footage allegedly shows coal-loaded trucks heading toward South Africa's Port of Richards Bay.

The Richards Bay Coal Terminal was established in 1976 as a partnership between the then leading coal companies. Today South Africa remains Africa's biggest coal producer, coal consumer, and coal exporter.

While highly toxic and dangerous for health as well as for the environment, the coal industry creates some 90,000 jobs.

💡 Anytime you've ideas to suggest, interesting topics to share, or feel that some facts are unfairly overlooked — don’t hesitate to drop a comment here or DM the channel.

Stay informed - @devilsbelow

Zimbabwe's Environmental Authorities Boast They Repaired 2.5 Holes

🌐 Bulawayo’s environmental regulator, the Environmental Management Agency (EMA), and the Bulawayo City Council say rapid growth of informal gold processing plants and illegal mining has left suburbs in tatters.

So, the agencies decided to conduct some rehabilitation and reported having filled pits on the territory of 2.2 hectares.

💬From a target of five hectares, EMA and BCC managed to rehabilitate 2,2 hectares of degraded land in the two suburbs at a cost of US$1 000.

🔸 Last year, EMA rehabilitated some 600 hectares of mined land across the country.

Throughout that year, the agency's budget was about $38 million.

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The DR Congo's state miner Sokimo wants to take a 2.9 million oz gold deposit away from AFC/M23

🌐 The row pits Sokimo, the state gold‑mines company (Société des mines d'or de KiloMoto), against Milvest, a Turkish mining operator, after a 2024 deal concerning the Zani-Kodo mine in eastern DRC, which Sokimo says left key commitments unmet.

🌟 The dispute broke out following the replacement of Sokimo's leadership by Felix Tshisekedi in late February. While Zani‑Kodo is as one of the most promising deposits in eastern DRC, the Turkish operator has not provided any firm commitments or precise schedules citing persistent insecurity in the Ituri region, adjacent to the territory controlled by AFC/M23 .

🗺 Due to its proximity to the rebel territory, the deposit constantly triggers suspicions that the mining companies working there, in the absence of Milvest, transfer part of the profits to the AFC/M23 movement. Remarkably, back in 2020 the current AFC/M23 leader Corneille Nangaa was the official holder of the Zani-Kodo license.

⁉️ Although the suspicion that the Turkish operator is unable to expel unknown illegal miners from the site sounds plausible, it is not clear how Sokimo itself is going to do this. Very likely by simply inviting someone else.

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✈️ Stay informed - @devilsbelow