Can Africa ride critical minerals wave to economic boom?
Stock image.As global powers scramble for critical minerals, African countries are pushing for new investment to process more of their own raw materials and meet their people’s demands for economic growth and jobs, analysts say.
To capitalize on the burgeoning demand, the continent must address power shortages, skills gaps, trade barriers and limited industrial capacity.
“This is an unprecedented opportunity for Africa to get on the value-chain bandwagon,” said Hany Besada, senior fellow at the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa at the London School of Economics and associate professor at the Wits School of Governance.
Africa has around 30% of the world’s mineral reserves, including cobalt, lithium and nickel.
The International Energy Agency expects lithium demand to grow fivefold by 2040, graphite and nickel demand to double and demand for cobalt and rare earth elements to increase by 50% to 60% by 2040.
Africa needs to “build local value chains that integrate mining with refining and manufacturing and innovation, and this goes hand-in-hand with the green transformation of the continent’s economies,” Besada said.
For example, Zimbabwe, Africa’s top lithium producer, has been nudging mining companies to process the minerals in the country to help lift its economy.
“We are creating new jobs, not only in the mining sector, but in the value addition of our minerals,” Evelyn Ndlovu, minister of environment, climate and wildlife, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “We have got a lot of people coming in to invest in Zimbabwe.”
China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt said in October it would start producing lithium sulphate during the first quarter of 2026 from its new $400 million plant in Zimbabwe.
At the United Nations’ COP30 climate talks in Brazil in November, African countries hope to win support, especially from the Global South, to ensure demand for the minerals fuelling the digital economy and clean energy transition translates into growth, jobs and development.
Africa “wants to be a meaningful participant and beneficiary of the green economy,” said Ibrahima Aidara, deputy Africa director at the National Resource Governance Institute.
“That means an industrial policy that creates jobs, protects rights and enables countries to climb the value chain and not be trapped at the bottom.”
As global powers scramble for critical minerals, African countries are pushing for new investment to process more of their own raw materials and meet their people’s demands for economic growth and jobs, analysts say.
To capitalize on the burgeoning demand, the continent must address power shortages, skills gaps, trade barriers and limited industrial capacity.
“This is an unprecedented opportunity for Africa to get on the value-chain bandwagon,” said Hany Besada, senior fellow at the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa at the London School of Economics and associate professor at the Wits School of Governance.
Africa has around 30% of the world’s mineral reserves, including cobalt, lithium and nickel.
The International Energy Agency expects lithium demand to grow fivefold by 2040, graphite and nickel demand to double and demand for cobalt and rare earth elements to increase by 50% to 60% by 2040.
Africa needs to “build local value chains that integrate mining with refining and manufacturing and innovation, and this goes hand-in-hand with the green transformation of the continent’s economies,” Besada said.
For example, Zimbabwe, Africa’s top lithium producer, has been nudging mining companies to process the minerals in the country to help lift its economy.
“We are creating new jobs, not only in the mining sector, but in the value addition of our minerals,” Evelyn Ndlovu, minister of environment, climate and wildlife, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “We have got a lot of people coming in to invest in Zimbabwe.”
China’s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt said in October it would start producing lithium sulphate during the first quarter of 2026 from its new $400 million plant in Zimbabwe.
At the United Nations’ COP30 climate talks in Brazil in November, African countries hope to win support, especially from the Global South, to ensure demand for the minerals fuelling the digital economy and clean energy transition translates into growth, jobs and development.
Africa “wants to be a meaningful participant and beneficiary of the green economy,” said Ibrahima Aidara, deputy Africa director at the National Resource Governance Institute.
“That means an industrial policy that creates jobs, protects rights and enables countries to climb the value chain and not be trapped at the bottom.”
What stands in the way
Aidara pointed to the Democratic Republic of Congo, which supplies 70% of the world’s cobalt, as an example of a country where mineral wealth has led to child labour, displacement and armed conflict.
Across Africa, barriers to mineral processing – called beneficiation – include a lack of electricity, high tariffs between African countries, infrastructure gaps and cumbersome customs procedures.
“Addressing barriers to trade is critical … If you don’t do that, efforts towards (mineral) beneficiation and industrialization remain aspirational,” Besada said.
Regional cooperation is also key, including initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), designed to unify all 1.4 billion people in more than 50 nations into a single market.
US President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs could give momentum to the AfCFTA, which was officially launched in 2021 but has less than half of member states actively trading under the framework.
The African Union’s Green Minerals Strategy, launched this year, and the Lobito Corridor railway, which connects Zambia’s copper belt to Angola’s Atlantic coast, are examples of cooperation that can help make Africa more than a mere supplier.
In West Africa, the minerals boom has sparked a resurgence of resource nationalism, with countries, particularly military regimes like the one in bauxite-rich Guinea, imposing conditions on foreign mining companies to force value addition.
But Aidara said this approach might not ensure lasting benefits to local communities.
“This problem … is bigger than individual countries. We believe at (the) national level we need … well-defined and evidence-based strategies to leverage minerals and create more economic and industrialization opportunities.”
Aidara pointed to the Democratic Republic of Congo, which supplies 70% of the world’s cobalt, as an example of a country where mineral wealth has led to child labour, displacement and armed conflict.
Across Africa, barriers to mineral processing – called beneficiation – include a lack of electricity, high tariffs between African countries, infrastructure gaps and cumbersome customs procedures.
“Addressing barriers to trade is critical … If you don’t do that, efforts towards (mineral) beneficiation and industrialization remain aspirational,” Besada said.
Regional cooperation is also key, including initiatives like the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), designed to unify all 1.4 billion people in more than 50 nations into a single market.
US President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs could give momentum to the AfCFTA, which was officially launched in 2021 but has less than half of member states actively trading under the framework.
The African Union’s Green Minerals Strategy, launched this year, and the Lobito Corridor railway, which connects Zambia’s copper belt to Angola’s Atlantic coast, are examples of cooperation that can help make Africa more than a mere supplier.
In West Africa, the minerals boom has sparked a resurgence of resource nationalism, with countries, particularly military regimes like the one in bauxite-rich Guinea, imposing conditions on foreign mining companies to force value addition.
But Aidara said this approach might not ensure lasting benefits to local communities.
“This problem … is bigger than individual countries. We believe at (the) national level we need … well-defined and evidence-based strategies to leverage minerals and create more economic and industrialization opportunities.”
Listening to Gen Z
(By Clar Ni Chonghaile and Kim Harrisberg; Editing by Jack Graham and Ayla Jean Yackley)
Japan, US consider rare earth mining near Minamitori in Pacific
Japan and the United States will jointly study developing rare earth mining in the waters around Minamitori Island in the Pacific, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said on Thursday.
Co-development of rare earth minerals was a key topic in her meeting with US President Donald Trump last week, Takaichi told a parliamentary session.
During Trump’s visit to Tokyo, the two countries signed a framework agreement for securing rare earth supplies to counter China’s dominance in the materials that are used in everything from cars to fighter jets.
There is an abundance of mud that potentially holds rare earths around Minamitori Island, some 1,900 km (1,180 miles) southeast of Tokyo, Takaichi said.
Japan plans to test the feasibility of raising rare earth mud from a depth of 6,000 metres in January, according to Takaichi.
“We will consider specific ways to promote cooperation between Japan and the United States on rare earth development … around Minamitori Island,” Takaichi said.
The Japanese government is pushing ahead with a national project to develop domestic rare earth production as part of broad efforts to strengthen maritime and economic security.
Surveys have confirmed the presence of rich rare earth mud at depths of 5,000 to 6,000 metres within Japan’s exclusive economic zone near Minamitori Island, according to an executive with the government-backed project.
If the initial tests are successful, the project aims to launch trial operations of a system capable of recovering 350 metric tons of mud per day from January 2027.
China dominates global rare earth extraction, although the US and Myanmar control 12% and 8% respectively, according to the Eurasia Group.
(By Kantaro Komiya and Katya Golubkova; Editing by Himani Sarkar and Tom Hogue)
Minamitori Island
Minamitori Island, coral atoll in the central Pacific Ocean 700 miles (1,125 km) southeast of Japan. It rises to 204 feet (62 metres) and has an area of 740 acres (300 hectares). Minamitori Island was discovered by the Japanese navigator Shinroku Mizutani (1868) and was annexed by Japan (1898). Prior to World War II it was administered as part of the Tokyo fu (urban prefecture). Occupied by U.S. troops late in the war, it was returned to Japan in 1968. It now shares a common administration with the Bonin Islands and the Volcano Islands. The atoll was the site of a meteorological station for studying typhoons. Marine products harvested include swordfish, seaweed, and squid.
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