The African continent holds a significant portion of the world’s essential critical minerals, raw materials that have become indispensable for both the global energy transition and the ongoing digital revolution. A pivotal conference held on July 27, 2026, under the theme « Africa at the crossroads: navigating global geopolitical competition in the era of critical minerals », highlighted the profound challenges ahead. Public policy makers, experts from the extractive sector, and civil society representatives shared their perspectives on a strategic shift that is actively reshaping the continent’s economic and security landscape.
Geopolitical competition redefines Africa’s political economy
Global demand for key resources such as cobalt, lithium, nickel, graphite, and rare earths is surging, driven by the electrification of transportation and the expansion of digital infrastructure. With approximately 30% of the world’s identified strategic mineral reserves, Africa finds itself at the heart of a complex international dynamic. Major global players like Washington, Beijing, and Brussels, alongside regional powers such as Abu Dhabi, Riyadh, and Ankara, are actively pursuing bilateral partnerships, acquiring stakes, and offering substantial investments in Africa’s vital mining corridors.
Speakers at the conference emphasized that this intense competition is fundamentally altering the political economy across the continent. While producing nations now possess unprecedented leverage in negotiations, they remain vulnerable to fluctuating commodity prices and the inherent risks of rent-seeking. The Democratic Republic of Congo with its cobalt, Guinea with bauxite, Zimbabwe for lithium, and Mozambique for graphite, present diverse examples where mineral attractiveness can either foster industrial growth or exacerbate instability.
Mining governance and security architecture under strain
The critical issue of governance was a central point of discussion. Participants reiterated that the majority of value addition from these minerals continues to be captured outside the continent. Refining, chemical processing, and battery manufacturing supply chains are predominantly concentrated in Asia, leaving African producers largely confined to the raw extraction phase. Nevertheless, several recent initiatives are striving to reverse this trend. The agreement between the DRC and Zambia to establish a regional electric battery value chain stands as a leading example of this ambitious new approach.
Concurrently, the extraction of critical minerals frequently occurs in regions grappling with latent or overt conflicts. Areas like eastern DRC, the Sahel, and certain parts of the Gulf of Guinea combine rich subsoil resources with institutional fragility. This combination often fuels a war economy, where armed groups exploit opaque export channels. Speakers advocated for stronger traceability mechanisms, similar to those implemented by the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), and called for more robust pan-African coordination.
Towards a second independence through local value addition
The concept of a « second independence » is gaining traction within African mining circles. This vision reflects an aspiration to move beyond a colonial-era model, where the continent exports raw materials only to import high-value manufactured products. Realizing this ambition necessitates substantial investments in energy infrastructure, comprehensive training for engineers, the establishment of special economic zones dedicated to metallurgical processing, and a complete overhaul of mining taxation policies.
Several nations are proactively advancing their strategies. Guinea, for instance, has stipulated the construction of an alumina refinery on its territory as part of the massive Simandou project. Zimbabwe took decisive action in 2022 by prohibiting the export of raw lithium. Meanwhile, Namibia and Botswana are exploring regulatory frameworks that mandate a minimum level of local processing. These strategic decisions, which sometimes encounter resistance from international investors, signify a doctrinal departure from the mining liberalism prevalent in the 1990s.
Discussions also focused on the crucial role of African financial institutions, which are tasked with structuring appropriate financing vehicles for transformation projects. The African Development Bank (AfDB) and Afreximbank are actively developing specialized instruments, while sovereign wealth funds from the Gulf region are showing increasing interest in African mineral assets. The struggle for mineral sovereignty will ultimately be decided as much in the mines as in the financial markets. Mastering critical minerals is now unequivocally recognized as a primary indicator of African power in the 21st century.