DANELLE DU PLESSIS ATTORNEYS

since 2009

The World Around Us

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Never stop thinking.

Fake News:

As almost any enterprising teenager can tell you, there is money to be made in advertising on most internet platforms such as Instagram and Youtube. Unfortunately, misinformation, half-truths and downright falsehoods are being spewed at us on an hourly basis - the aim being "more clicks" and not veracity. (see BBC Trending: "The (almost) complete history of fake news" , 22 January 2018).

"The Economist Radio" has recently reported on the worrying growth of fake academic and scientific journals - apparently between 9 000 and 14 000 journals fall in this category (see Babbage: Fuel for thought 20 June 2018)

As the distinction between fact and fiction becomes more blurry every day, our modern day dilemma is: How much of what you read and see on the internet can you actually believe?

Streetwise politicians are capitalising on this as their cry of "fake news" seems to have become an easy way of dismissing inconvenient truths.

So let's be prudent about what others are spewing at us:

Know your source of information, and don't be embarrassed to quote it.
Familiarise yourself with well-acclaimed investigative journals and their authors - double-check your "facts" against them.
Time is precious , so is your reputation - don't waste it on dubious journalism and hot-headed opinions.
Never stop thinking.

Cobalt - the new oil?

Cobalt is the critical metal used in the composition of lithium-ion batteries that are used in electrical vehicles and consumer electronics such as smartphones and tablets. The increasing demand for these commodities have led to the price of cobalt skyrocketing in the last years. Nickel is also an important component of lithium-ion batteries, but it cannot really replace the use of cobalt. An increase in nickel at the expense of cobalt will lead to enhanced energy-density of the battery but to an increase in instability of the battery as well. Cobalt is therefore essential.

About two thirds of the world's cobalt is mined in the Democratic Republic of Congo as a by-product in the mining of copper and nickel, by Glencore Plc, the worlds' biggest producer of cobalt. In March 2018, Glencore Plc has sold two thirds of its cobalt production to GEM Co Ltd , a Chinese battery recycler.

This leads to the concern that China might be cornering the market for the production of lithium-ion batteries.

(see Money Talks: Yi Gang at the helm, 20 March 2018, Economist Radio)

So as consumers and governments are looking at making the switch from petrol and diesel to electrical vehicles, the question is :

Will cobalt be the new oil?

And if so, Do we really need another oligopoly?

Battery builders get the cobalt bluesDemand for battery metals surges on the back of a global appetite for electric vehicles

Glencore signs massive cobalt sale deal with China's GEMGlencore Plc, the world's biggest producer of cobalt, has agreed to sell around a third of its cobalt production over the next three years to Chinese battery recycler GEM Co Ltd, according to a filing by GEM on Wednesday.

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