Key among those challenges as the world’s largest oil producer seeks to unlock an estimated $1.3 trillion in mineral wealth are logistics and water supplies.
A court in Burkina Faso last week handed out suspended sentences to two executives after finding them guilty of involuntary manslaughter for the flood disaster.
California Republican congressman Ken Calvert said America must be "clear-eyed about the Chinese and Russian aggression when it comes to consolidating critical mineral resources.”
Aluminum traders had seen this movie before back in 2018, when US sanctions on Rusal's owner Oleg Deripaska caused massive upheaval along the entire length of the global supply chain.
"Now copper has broken below $7,475 a tonne, traders will be eyeing the $6,955 20-month low touched on July 15," said Saxo Bank head of commodity strategy Ole Hansen.