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Graphite producers in Southeast Africa, including Madagascar, Mozambique and Tanzania, are becoming key players as global demand shifts away from China. Despite challenges like infrastructure and competition, growing demand for large graphite flakes and downstream processing signals a promising future for the region by 2025

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has moved to impose a suspension on exports of cobalt for four months due to the low-price environment at the start of the year, according to documents seen by Fastmarkets and sources close to the situation.

Read Fastmarkets’ monthly battery raw materials market update for February 2025, focusing on raw materials including lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite and more

There’s broad agreement that DeepSeek has upended the artificial intelligence (AI) sector by developing a cutting-edge large language model that uses less computational power, but whether improved AI efficiency cuts demand for copper in the data centers used to power it is a matter of debate.

The lithium market in 2025 is expected to face significant challenges due to production cuts, shifting demand patterns and geopolitical tensions. These factors are poised to reshape the market landscape, impacting supply chains and pricing strategies.

Africa’s first transcontinental rail network, known as the Lobito Corridor, which aims to eventually connect almost the entire regional copper-cobalt belt with additional links across sub-Saharan Africa, is on track to break ground early in 2026, a senior official at the US Department of State told Fastmarkets.