discovery to production timeline

Africa proved it can move the cobalt price, then lost a third of the quota to paperwork, which is the part Australian operations should read twice

Africa's critical mineral producers are shifting from hosting resources to setting terms, and a recent intelligence briefing shows the leverage is real, the value capture is not yet, and the read-through for Australian operations is sharper than the geopolitics suggests.

By Jamie Wade on August 14, 2026
Efficiency, Production Optimisation, Mineral Processing, ESG, Regulatory Adherence, Legislative Updates, Economic Balance, Extraction, Resource Sustainability, Geological Surveys, Reserve Estimation, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Mitigation, Exploration, Geological exploration and resource modelling, Geoscience data visualisation and analytics
Australia, Western Australia, North America, United States, Africa, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia, Angola, Guinea, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Madagascar, Europe, Finland, Germany, Asia, China
Iron ore, Platinum, Cobalt, Lithium, Palladium, Industrial Minerals, Base Metals, Graphite, Copper, Rare Earth Elements, Nickel, Praseodymium, Tin, Neodymium, Precious Metals, Aluminium/Bauxite, Samarium, Gold, Manganese, Strategic Minerals