Humanitarian Pressure on Mali and the Sahel: The UN says about 24 million people across the Sahel need aid as violence, displacement and climate shocks worsen conditions in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Niger and more. Power for Industry: The World Bank reports West Africa’s power integration is expanding cross-border electricity trade, with 4,000+ km of transmission lines built and millions gaining access—Mali is included in the West African Power Pool. Gold, Security and Financing: A new analysis argues Sahel wars are increasingly “paid for” through gold, with artisanal mining tied to armed groups—raising pressure for tighter controls on gold flows. Mali Mining Under the Spotlight: Barrick is weighing a London listing/structuring move for its Africa assets after its Mali mining-code dispute; meanwhile China’s regulators are reportedly questioning Zijin’s $4bn Allied Gold takeover over valuation and Mali political risk. Sahel Conflict Escalation: In Mali, Russia’s Africa Corps has reportedly armed the Malian forces with Lancet drones, backing operations against FLA and JNIM-linked fighters. Mining Expo Push: Ghana and Nigeria’s ministers used WAMPEX in Accra to stress moving mining from extraction to industrial value creation—an angle Mali industry watchers will be tracking. Border and Trade Disruption: With the Strait of Hormuz largely shut, shipping reroutes are lifting pressure on West African ports like Lomé, affecting logistics costs and delivery timelines.