Mali is Africa's 3rd largest Gold producer.
The Germans have now asked for their Gold stored in France to be repatriated.
http://ian56.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/nothing-to-see-here-move-along-mali.html
Tuareg's, Uranium and Mali's recent military coup
http://www.globalresearch.ca/mali-s-tuareg-uranium-conspiracy/30118
The French generate 80% of their electricity via 59 nuclear reactors. Uranium resources are therefore important to France.
http://ceasefiremagazine.co.uk/blood-uranium-frances-mali-intervention-terrorism/
Mali crisis : France moves troops to the front line
http://rt.com/news/mali-rebels-france-troops-086/
Islamic Extremists rode on the back of existing Tuareg resentment of the Mali government.
They are now fighting together for control of the Northern part of the country.
The legitimate government of Mali was overthrown in a military coup in March 2012. They were thrown out of the African Union as a result.
http://www.theworld.org/2012/05/tuareg-violence-mali/
France's neo colonial war for Uranium in Mali
http://newsjunkiepost.com/2013/01/14/mali-frances-neo-colonial-war-for-uranium/
Updates 01/18
Mali also has potentially significant oil reserves as well.
But at the moment it is just potential and not confirmed reserves.
Of course some people may have more up to date knowledge than has so far been published on the net.
http://www.africacncl.org/Events/downloads/Mr.%20Max%20De%20Vietri,%20Baraka%20Petroleum.pdf
A good strategic piece on Mali, it's natural resources and Sub Saharan Africa in general
http://rpmadeira.hubpages.com/hub/Mali-uranium-gold-oil-and-strategic-minerals
A US government cable from 2006 published by Wikileaks on Mali's potential for oil.
http://www.cablegatesearch.net/cable.php?id=06BAMAKO520
Update 01/19
A more detailed inventory of the under exploited natural resources of Mali.
French Lies: The War on Mali is about Uranium, Gold, Petroleum, and Strategic Minerals
http://thesantosrepublic.com/2013/01/french-lies-the-war-on-mali-is-about-uranium-gold-petroleum-and-strategic-minerals/
Update 01/23
Should we expect war in Algeria soon?
http://www.voltairenet.org/a177190
There is still simmering resentment over the Algerian civil war of 1995 when the Islamists were defeated by the Algerian military government of the time.
The French currently obtain most of their Uranium from Niger, which neighbors Mali.
Nigeria, where there has been on-going trouble from rebels for years is close by.
Nigeria has LOTS of oil of course - currently mostly being exploited by Shell.
Update 02/13
The real reason for the war in Mali - natural resources and China
http://nsnbc.me/2013/02/13/war-in-mali-usafricom-targets-china/
Map of recent Chinese trade deals in Africa
Appendix
Meet Mansa Musa I, Emperor of Mali , the richest person of all time
An empire and fortune built on Gold, salt and slaves.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/world-history/meet-mansa-musa-i-of-mali--the-richest-human-being-in-all-history-8213453.html
Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 caused high inflation in Egypt and what is now Saudi Arabia by flooding the market with new money, in his case real money - Gold.
It is estimated that a third of the people in Musa's Empire were slaves. Slavery is still a problem in Mali today.
Mansa Musa's pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 and the high inflation he caused in Egypt and what is now Saudi Arabia by flooding the market with new money, in his case real money i.e. Gold, is instructive.
Islam and pilgrimage to Mecca
From the far reaches of theMediterranean Sea to the Indus River, the faithful approached the city of Mecca. All had the same objective to worship together at the most sacred shrine of Islam, the Kaaba in Mecca. One such traveler was Mansa Musa,Sultan of Mali in Western Africa. Mansa Musa had prepared carefully for the long journey he and his attendants would take. He was determined to travel not only for his own religious fulfillment, but also for recruiting teachers and leaders, so that his realms could learn more of the Prophet's teachings.
Mahmud Kati, Chronicle of the Seeker
Musa was a devout Muslim and his pilgrimage to Mecca, a command ordained by Allahaccording to core teachings of Islam, made him well-known across northern Africa and the Middle East. To Musa, Islam was the foundation of the "cultured world of the Eastern Mediterranean".[7] He would spend much time fostering the growth of Islam in his empire.
Musa made his pilgrimage in 1324, his procession reported to include 60,000 men, 12,000 slaves who each carried 4-lb. gold bars, heralds dressed in silks who bore gold staffs, organized horses and handled bags. Musa provided all necessities for the procession, feeding the entire company of men and animals.[8] Also in the train were 80 camels, which varying reports claim carried between 50 and 300 pounds of gold dust each. He gave away the gold to the poor he met along his route. Musa not only gave to the cities he passed on the way to Mecca, includingCairo and Medina, but also traded gold for souvenirs. Furthermore, it has been recorded that he built a mosque each and every Friday.
Musa's journey was documented by several eyewitnesses along his route, who were in awe of his wealth and extensive procession, and records exist in a variety of sources, including journals, oral accounts and histories. Musa is known to have visited with the Mamluk sultan Al-Nasir Muhammad of Egypt in July 1324.[9]
Musa's generous actions, however, inadvertently devastated the economy of the region. In the cities of Cairo, Medina and Mecca, the sudden influx of gold devalued the metal for the next decade. Prices on goods and wares super inflated in an attempt to adjust to the newfound wealth that was spreading throughout local populations. To rectify the gold market, Musa borrowed all the gold he could carry from money-lenders in Cairo, at high interest. This is the only time recorded in history that one man directly controlled the price of gold in the Mediterranean.[10]
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