Trump to host African leaders offering major mining ventures

US President Donald Trump is scheduled this week to meet the leaders of five African nations that will potentially offer American businesses opportunities in critical minerals and other natural resources.

Trump invited the leaders of Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal for a three-day summit at the White House that’s scheduled to begin on Wednesday.

The five rank among Africa’s smaller economies, with a combined gross domestic product of only around $75-billion, according to the International Monetary Fund. But they’re rich in minerals and have the potential to produce far more than they do today.

Notably absent from the gathering are leaders from Africa’s biggest economies including South Africa, which faces the introduction of a 30% reciprocal tariff by the Trump administration, and Nigeria, the continent’s largest oil producer.

Ahead of the talks, Liberia’s government announced that it’s signed a $1.8-billion agreement with Ivanhoe Atlantic, majority owned by a company founded by