Rwanda severed diplomatic ties on Monday with its former colonial ruler, Belgium, which has been pushing to penalize Rwanda over its invasion of the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. Rwanda’s Foreign Ministry gave Belgian diplomats 48 hours to leave the country. The diplomatic escalation came as the European Union, at the urging of Belgium, on…
A private company is aiming to heave a microwave oven-size spacecraft toward an asteroid later this week, its goal to kick off a future where precious metals are mined around the solar system to create vast fortunes on Earth. “If this works out, this will probably be the biggest business ever conceived of,” said Matt…
Even though many Greenlanders said they are not fans of Mr. Trump, they enjoy watching him push Denmark around. In interviews, they expressed confidence that this would ultimately help them get a sovereign state of their own — something no other Inuit community has achieved — unless America swallows them first. “Everyone I know is…
At least 43 people, mostly women, were killed after an informal gold mine collapsed in western Mali on Saturday, the head of an industry union said. The accident took place near the town of Kéniéba in Mali’s gold-rich Kayes region, Taoule Camara, the secretary general of the national union of gold counters and refineries, told…
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, during a closed-door meeting on Wednesday, rejected an offer by the Trump administration to relinquish half of the country’s mineral resources in exchange for U.S. support, according to five people briefed on the proposal or with direct knowledge of the talks. The unusual deal would have granted the United States…
A powerful tropical cyclone was barreling toward the Pilbara region in northwestern Australia on Thursday and was expected to bring destructive winds and flooding to a remote region that is home to ports and mines that are crucial to the global economy. Tropical Cyclone Zelia had sustained wind speeds of about 127 miles per hour…
As President Trump argues the acquisition of Greenland is key to the economic security of the United States, he is flanked by wealthy investors who have eyed the island as a potentially lucrative venue for mining metals and minerals. Among them is his commerce secretary nominee, Howard Lutnick, who has a financial stake in the…
After declaring a national energy emergency on his first day in office, President Trump said Thursday that coal could be a fuel source for new electric generating plants. He announced a plan to issue emergency declarations to build power plants to meet a projected increase in electricity demand for artificial intelligence. “They can fuel it…
The South African authorities said on Tuesday that they had pulled dozens of dead miners from a shuttered gold mine where they were working illegally until a blockade during which the police at one point cut off access to food, water and other supplies. As of Tuesday evening, the police reported recovering 51 bodies and…
In a chilly auditorium in Afghanistan, heaps of freshly mined green emeralds glowed under bright table lamps as bearded gemstone dealers inspected them for purity and quality. An auctioneer asked for bids on the first lot, which weighed 256 carats. With that, the Taliban’s weekly gemstone auction was underway. These sales, in the emerald-rich Panjshir…