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  • Rare earths

Al Majalla

The six noble gases countries are fighting over

Odourless, colourless gases such as helium, neon, radon, argon, krypton, and xenon power key industries. They are rare, difficult to extract, and hugely valuable, yet largely under the radar.

Abdulfattah Khattab 07 December 2025
US President Donald Trump (L) and Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (R) hold up signed documents on a trade deal during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur on 26 October 2025. ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP

Will Trump’s critical minerals blitz pay off?

The US president has been on a mission to secure new supply chains—and counter China's grip

Christina Lu 11 November 2025
US President Donald Trump and Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hold a signed agreement on rare earths and critical minerals during a meeting in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on October 20, 2025.

The countries courting Trump with critical minerals

Australia becomes the latest country to sign a deal with the US president

Rishi Iyengar 23 October 2025
Shutterstock

Thorium: Egypt’s mineral treasure lying in its black sands

A metal that can be converted into a fissile material for nuclear power is plentiful in the Arab world's most populous country. If science can harness its potential, Egypt has a valuable asset.

Marcelle Nasr 09 September 2025
Al Majalla

How Saudi Arabia is redefining the global mining map

The Future Minerals Forum has become one of the world's most influential gatherings in the minerals sector, uniting stakeholders around the shared goal of building sustainable mineral supply chains

Faisal Faeq 07 September 2025
Dela wa Monga, an artisanal miner, holds a cobalt stone at the Shabara artisanal mine near Kolwezi in the Democratic Republic of Congo on October 12, 2022. Junior KANNAH / AFP

Ending wars in exchange for minerals: a new US model?

Three decades of fighting in eastern Congo involving Rwanda and others was supposed to have come to an end in June. Is US economic engagement the magic wand its wielder says it is?

Sergey Eledinov 06 September 2025
A worker mining lead sulphide in the border area between Morocco and Algeria. Alamy

Algeria’s mineral wealth gives it a new edge

The country has passed a new minerals law seen by its backers as a catalyst for investment. But critics say it surrenders sovereignty. Which way will the pendulum swing?

Rabia Abdul Salam 04 September 2025
An M23 soldier holds damaged weapons in the Stade de l’Unité (Unity Stadium) in Goma, DRC on May 13, 2025. Jospin Mwisha / AFP

Tariffs and minerals: when trade and resource wars collide

China's iron grip on the rare earths needed in today's most strategic industries is something that US President Donald Trump appears to be focused on, but the fight also involves Europe

Mohamed Sharki 23 August 2025
Eduardo Ramon

The rare earths powering industries and fuelling conflicts

From Africa to the Arctic, certain metals and minerals are so highly sought after for today's strategic industries that countries will go to war over them. What are they? Al Majalla digs deeper.

Abdulfattah Khattab 18 August 2025
  • Popular
  • Editor's Pick
Lina Jaradat
Politics

Trump, Sharaa, and the future of Syria

05 December 2025

There was visible warmth when the US and Syrian presidents met in the Oval Office last month, with some even speculating a Trump visit to Damascus. But there is much to do before that happens.

Robert Ford
AFP / Al Majalla
Politics

The GCC moves from ‘safe neutrality’ to ‘indivisible security’

05 December 2025

Following the unprecedented attacks on Qatar, Gulf leaders have pledged to forge a unified defence front, marking a historic shift from cautious neutrality to collective security

Omar Harkous
Jay Torres
Politics

The evolution of Latin America’s drug cartels

04 December 2025

What began as a locally rooted trade in coca leaves and opium evolved into a transnational system of cartels that challenged governments, corrupted institutions, and destabilised countries

Stefanie Butendieck Hijerra
AFP / Al Majalla
Politics

Why the US is asking Lebanon for its bomb back

05 December 2025

When Israel killed a Hezbollah military chief in late November, one GBU-39 bomb failed to detonate, leaving Washington worried that its adversaries could reverse engineer it

Michael Horowitz
Spanish poet Miriam Reyes Wikimedia Commons
Culture & Social Affairs

Spanish poet Miriam Reyes on escaping the prison of the page

03 December 2025

With her collection 'Con' having won Spain's 2025 National Poetry Prize, the Galician writer spoke to Al Majalla about the process of creation as she works on her first novel.

Mohammed Al-Bittari

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OPINIONS

The making and unmaking of Yemen unity over half a century

Anwar Al-Ansi
Anwar Al-Ansi

Trump’s decision to sue the BBC is part of a familiar theme

Con Coughlin
Con Coughlin

Western silence on Sudan speaks volumes

Christopher Phillips
Christopher Phillips

'Sir, there appears to be a hole in your argument'

Fares Garabet
Fares Garabet
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