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For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Bashar Barhoum woke in his dungeon prison cell in Damascus at dawn Sunday, thinking it would be the last day of his life. The 63-year-old writer was supposed to have been executed after being imprisoned for seven months. But he soon realized the men at the door weren't from former Syrian President Bashar Assad 's notorious security forces, ready to take him to his death. Instead, they were rebels coming to set him free. As the insurgents swept across Syria in just 10 days to bring an end to the Assad family's 50-year rule, they broke into prisons and security facilities to free political prisoners and many of the tens of thousands of people who disappeared since the conflict began back in 2011. Barhoum was one of those freed who were celebrating in Damascus. "I haven't seen the sun until today," Barhoum told The Associated Press after walking in disbelief through the streets of Damascus. "Instead of being dead tomorrow, thank God, he gave me a new lease of life." Barhoum couldn't find his cellphone and belongings in the prison so set off to find a way to tell his wife and daughters that he's alive and well. Videos shared widely across social media showed dozens of prisoners running in celebration after the insurgents released them, some barefoot and others wearing little clothing. One of them screams in celebration after he finds out that the government has fallen. Torture, executions... Kareem ChehayebOngundu yoThe Independent Patriots for Change (IPC) otashi vulika yi ka longe nuudhigu ngele itayi fatulula nawa iinakugwanithwa yomupresitende gwayo Dr Panduleni Itula noyomulel ... If you are an active subscriber and the article is not showing, please log out and back in. Free access to articles from 12:00.
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China's trade restrictions on strategic minerals are starting to hit Western companies where it hurts. Blaming Beijing's curbs on antimony exports announced in August, German chemicals and consumer goods heavyweight Henkel told customers last month it had declared force majeure and suspended deliveries of four types of adhesives and lubricants widely used by automakers, according to a Nov. 8 letter to clients reviewed by Reuters. Henkel uses the silvery metal to make its Bonderite and Teroson-branded products, core parts of the company's adhesive technologies division, which brought in 10.79 billion euros ($11.4 billion) in revenue last year. "We have been notified by our suppliers that the importation of these raw materials has been delayed pending the Chinese government accepting license applications," according to the letter, which was signed by two senior executives. "As a result, Henkel is hereby declaring force majeure in connection with its deliveries of these products," the German company also said, adding it was unable to predict the duration of the situation. The letter from Henkel, which had not been reported previously, and conversations with more than two dozen traders, miners, processors, end-users, and industry experts in North America, Europe and China underscore the severe disruption caused by Beijing's trade restrictions and highlight how Western players' struggle to replace China-based supply chains. Contacted by Reuters about the letter, Henkel said it was working to support its customers and find alternative supplies: "We are monitoring the global supply situation of antimony very closely and aim to restore solutions to fulfill our customers' orders." The price of antimony, scarce in nature but essential for military equipment such as ammunition, infrared missiles, nuclear weapons, and night vision goggles, rallied nearly 230 percent this year to about $39,000 per metric ton in Rotterdam's busy spot market, according to market intelligence provider Argus. China is the world's largest antimony producer and dominates the production of many strategic materials. Last year, Beijing also limited exports of gallium and germanium - used for semiconductors, solar panels and weapons - as well as certain types of graphite - a key component in EV batteries. Responding to a fresh US crackdown on China's chip industry, Beijing this week further ratcheted up pressure, imposing an outright ban on exports of gallium, germanium and antimony to the United States, where Henkel makes Bonderite in Michigan. Beijing's restrictions bring added urgency for Western players to cut their reliance on minerals from China. Miner Perpetua Resources, for instance, is developing an antimony mine in Idaho with US government funding. But new mines can take years to develop, leaving players like Henkel scrambling to find alternatives, which are often more costly. "Please note that we are in close contact with our suppliers and using all commercially reasonable means to leverage our global supply chain to address this situation and support our customers," Henkel also wrote in the letter. Meanwhile, some Western miners and processors have started to build up capacity. United States Antimony (USAC), the only North American processor of the metal, made plans to lift output at its Montana smelter, which was running at 50 percent of capacity after China announced curbs on antimony exports in August. "Our decision to ramp up production was predominantly triggered by the more than tripling of worldwide Rotterdam antimony prices," the company's chairman, Gary Evans, told Reuters. China's restrictions "created significantly more demand for our finished products," he added. Mining at the Montana site was halted in 1983, when it was cheaper to source antimony from mines outside the United States, and environmental curbs now prevent extraction there, according to the company. USAC, which does not rely on China, is in talks to receive the material from four other countries and one domestic supplier as early as December, Evans said, declining to name them for competitive reasons. Orders at Ottawa-based Northern Graphite, which touts itself as North America's only producer of natural flake graphite, jumped 50 percent in the aftermath of China's graphite curbs announced in October 2023, CEO Hugues Jacquemin told Reuters. "When the export controls came into effect in December last year, there was quite a surge in demand. We started ramping up capacity," said Jacquemin, whose firm is developing projects in Namibia and Ontario to add to its mine in Lac des Iles, Quebec. China accounts for over 70 percent of supply of both natural mined graphite and its synthetic variety. Mark Jensen, CEO of ReElement Technologies, an arm of American Resources that specialises in recycling and refining rare earths, said China's most recent export ban means the company has this week fielded at least 10 calls from US miners offering zinc ore, which can be a source of germanium during processing. Those shipments had previously gone to China for processing given lower labour cost and different environmental standards, he said. "We have been reaching out to US suppliers of these feedstock to sell these byproducts to us instead of sending it to China as we are now an alternative to China," Jensen told Reuters. Canadian miner Teck Resources, which produces germanium as a byproduct at its Red Dog zinc mine in Alaska and is the only supplier of the metal in North America, told Reuters it was studying whether to boost output of the critical material there now that China has blocked exports to the United States. China's export squeeze has triggered a surge in prices for many strategic minerals. Gallium sold outside of China was 30 percent to 40 percent more expensive than in the People's Republic in the first half of 2024 from a year before, according to Toronto-based Neo Performance Materials, which produces gallium by recycling manufacturing scrap, said in August. In China, the restrictions have forced some weaker players out of the market, traders and analysts told Reuters. Two Chinese germanium traders told Reuters they had given up on exports as they were unable to secure licenses either because overseas clients were unwilling to provide specific details on end-users or because they are from the United States. Even before Beijing's latest curbs singling out the United States, no Chinese germanium or gallium was shipped there this year through October, Chinese customs data show. Over the same period in 2023, the US ranked as the fourth- and fifth-largest export market for the minerals. For end-users, China's restrictions underscore the importance of supply diversification. "When you de-risk, you need to de-risk with different levers," said Maxime Picat, chief purchasing officer at automaker Stellantis. "If you are a one-solution company, knowing that your battery suppliers are all Chinese or all Korean, then you are at risk."A-1 Pressure Washing & Roof Cleaning Reaches 150 Five-Star Reviews and Earns Client Praise