Post #478

🔵It’s Not Only Trump Who Wants Minerals🔵 Zambia’s army conducts a military operation to seize gold 🔫 Thoroughly inspired by the spirit of the times and soaring gold prices, Zambia’s army has carried out a full-fledged military operation—seizing the Kikonge gold deposit in the northwest of its own territory. According to reports, the army managed to drive around 1,000 illegal miners off the site. 🏹 Although the operation is being presented simply as the restoration of order and the rule of law, in reality it marks a full-scale paradigm shift for locals. For a long time, Kikonge deliberately had no large companies—only artisanal miners and cooperatives. That, in turn, had already led to an influx of enthusiasts from neighboring countries (Namibia, South Africa, and Tanzania) and clashes with police in July 2025. ❗️ While both episodes of security forces involvement were framed as “clearing” the area, the current intervention is tied not only to security concerns but also to a decision to hand the asset over to a new partner. In December, it was announced that the mine would be transferred to the private company Mining Mineral Resources, which operates in southern DRC and is linked to Congolese businessman of Indian origin Rahim Dhrolia. The state-owned ZMMC will also enter Kikonge alongside Dhrolia's company. In this way, the Zambian government has decided to solve two problems at once—shifting the burden of guarding the area against foreigners onto a private partner and securing a larger share of the gold profits. Still, something suggests that once the foreigners are expelled and heavy machinery arrives, even legal local artisanal miners will find themselves shut out of access to the gold. ➡️ Stay informed - @devilsbelow