Why African countries must invest more in earth sciences
THE African continent contains some of the world’s richest mineral resources. For instance, the Democratic Republic of Congo produces most of the world’s cobalt; Rwanda, Ethiopia and Mozambique are major contributors to global tantalum output. These minerals are important constituents in modern electronics. WARWICK WILLIAM HASTIE, Senior Lecturer, University of KwaZulu-Natal The continent also has the bulk of global reserves of platinum and palladium, metals which are critical in the rapidly evolving market for renewable energy and electric vehicles. With such resources to hand, African researchers should be contributing significantly to the academic discipline of earth science – the physical…