EU chases mineral deals with Africa
THE European Union is in negotiations with the Democratic Republic of Congo, a leading source of battery minerals, and aims for talks with other African countries to shore up its supplies of critical raw materials, an EU official said on Wednesday. As part of efforts to reduce dependency on China, which dominates supplies of minerals needed for a transition to a lower carbon economy, the EU's Critical Raw Materials Act, which has yet to enter force, established targets to develop alternative sources. So far the EU has signed partnerships with countries such as Canada, Kazakhstan, Namibia and Ukraine, and said deals…