For decades, Africa has supplied the world with the minerals that power global industry—from cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to lithium in Zimbabwe, platinum in South Africa, and graphite in Mozambique. Today, as the world rushes to build electric vehicles, solar panels, and battery storage systems, these critical minerals have become the lifeblood of the green economy. But African governments are now insisting that mere extraction and export of raw materials are not enough. They want industries that create jobs, transfer technology, and ensure that the continent’s resource wealth finally translates into broad-based development.
This shift represents more than a policy adjustment; it signals a growing assertiveness across African economies—a desire to break away from the “export-and-depend” model that has long defined their place in the global supply chain.
The Green Transition’s Uneven Promise
The irony of the global green transition is that while the minerals essential to net-zero goals lie buried beneath African soil, most of the value generated from them flows elsewhere. When a battery for an electric vehicle rolls off an assembly line in the United States, China, or Europe, the African country that exported its cobalt or lithium often receives less than ten percent of the final product’s value.
In the DRC, which produces roughly 70 percent of the world’s cobalt, the mineral is typically exported in semi-processed or unrefined form. Refining, cell manufacturing, and final assembly happen abroad, where higher-skilled and higher-paying jobs are concentrated. This imbalance has fostered renewed debate across the continent: why should Africa remain at the bottom rung of the global clean-energy value chain?
African leaders argue that it’s time to reverse that model. In Zambia, President Hakainde Hichilema has repeatedly said that the days of simply exporting copper concentrates are over. Instead, his government is promoting local smelting and battery precursor production through partnerships with international investors. Similar sentiments echo from Windhoek to Harare, as governments introduce laws and incentives to ensure that critical mineral extraction triggers industrial transformation rather than serving as another chapter in the continent’s long history of resource dependency.
From Extraction to Transformation
The call for beneficiation—the process of adding value to raw minerals before export—is not new. South Africa’s post-apartheid government, for instance, has long sought to use its rich deposits of platinum and manganese to spur domestic manufacturing. What is new is the urgency and global context.
As the world decarbonizes, demand for minerals like lithium, cobalt, nickel, and graphite is set to surge by up to 500 percent over the next two decades, according to the International Energy Agency. That projection has strengthened Africa’s bargaining power. Many governments are leveraging this rare moment of strategic importance to renegotiate the terms of engagement with global partners.
Namibia, for example, now restricts the export of unprocessed lithium and rare earth ores, encouraging investors to establish local processing facilities. Zimbabwe banned the export of raw lithium in 2022, pushing companies to build domestic refineries and battery-grade facilities. The DRC and Zambia, meanwhile, have launched a joint initiative to develop a regional value chain for electric vehicle batteries—a bold strategy to move beyond raw exports toward industrial integration.
“Processing minerals at home means jobs, skills, and sustainable growth,” said Zambian Minister of Commerce Chipoka Mulenga earlier this year. “If we keep shipping raw minerals abroad, we are exporting opportunities.”
Why the Stakes Are So High
Africa’s demand for a new deal reflects more than just economic ambition. It is about sovereignty, stability, and survival. The continent’s past experiences with resource wealth have been checkered—marked by corruption, environmental degradation, and economic volatility. The “resource curse” narrative, once used to explain why mineral abundance often led to poverty and conflict, still lingers.
Across Africa’s mining belts, communities have seen little of the wealth embedded in the ground beneath them. Roads, schools, and clinics remain scarce even in regions that generate billions of dollars in exports. In the DRC’s cobalt-rich Katanga province, thousands of artisanal miners work under harsh conditions, with limited safety measures or labor rights, often for a few dollars a day. Critics argue that multinational companies benefit from cheap labor and lax governance while Africans shoulder the social and environmental costs.
The current push for local value addition seeks to break that cycle by ensuring that mineral-based industries contribute directly to national economies through employment, infrastructure, and tax revenue. But it also requires capital, skilled labor, and technology—areas where many African states still face structural constraints.
The China Factor: Partner or Predator?
No discussion of Africa’s critical minerals can ignore China, which dominates refining and battery production globally. Over the past two decades, Chinese firms have acquired stakes in mines across the continent, including cobalt operations in the DRC, lithium in Zimbabwe, and copper in Zambia. In many cases, Chinese investment has revitalized dormant operations and injected much-needed capital.
However, critics argue that the deals have frequently favored Chinese interests. Local content obligations are often weakly enforced, and while the infrastructure-for-minerals model has produced new roads, railways, and hydropower dams, it has not always led to sustainable job creation. Chinese companies often import labor and expertise rather than developing local supply chains.
That dynamic is starting to shift as African governments adopt a firmer stance. Zimbabwe’s new regulations now compel foreign investors to process lithium domestically, while Namibia has insisted on joint ventures that include local participation. Even the DRC, once reliant on opaque mining contracts, has begun renegotiating long-term agreements to ensure fairer revenue sharing and stricter environmental oversight.
These moves signal a growing awareness that Africa no longer needs to be the passive supplier in its relationship with global powers. Beijing, Brussels, and Washington all need Africa’s minerals; that leverage has never been stronger.
The West’s Renewed Interest
The resurgence of Western interest in Africa’s minerals stems directly from geopolitical competition. The United States and European Union, recognizing their dependence on China for key inputs like lithium and cobalt, are courting African nations with promises of “mutually beneficial” partnerships.
In December 2022, the U.S. signed a memorandum with the DRC and Zambia to support an “Electric Vehicle Value Chain Partnership,” providing financing and technical assistance to develop local industries. Similarly, the EU’s Global Gateway initiative aims to fund critical mineral projects that promote ethical sourcing and transparent governance.
While these partnerships are framed as more equitable alternatives to China’s approach, African leaders remain cautious. Many are insisting that future deals include concrete commitments to job creation, technology transfer, and environmental protection—not just rhetoric. As Tanzanian President Samia Suluhu Hassan bluntly put it, “We cannot mine for others to prosper while our people remain poor.”
Balancing Economic Growth and Environmental Sustainability
As Africa deepens its participation in the mineral economy, it faces a delicate balancing act between growth and environmental sustainability. Mining, by its nature, brings ecological risks—water contamination, deforestation, and carbon emissions. Without strong regulatory oversight, local beneficiation could exacerbate these problems.
But the shift to localized processing also opens opportunities for more sustainable mining practices. By hosting refineries and manufacturing plants domestically, countries can more closely monitor environmental compliance and promote cleaner technologies. Namibia’s green hydrogen strategy, for instance, aims to power new mineral-processing facilities with renewable energy—a model that could help decouple industrialization from fossil fuel dependency.
Moreover, if Africa can embed value-added industries near mineral sources, it could reduce the carbon footprint associated with shipping ores abroad for refinement and reimporting finished products. That transition aligns with the global imperative to build greener and more localized supply chains.
Challenges in Building Capacity
Turning ambition into reality, however, will not be easy. Industrializing the mineral sector requires substantial investment in infrastructure, power, and skilled labor—all areas where many African nations face chronic deficits. Setting up a modern lithium refinery, for example, can cost between $300 million and $600 million. Few African countries can shoulder that alone without foreign partners.
Then there is the issue of skills. Processing batteries or refining cobalt requires chemical engineering expertise, safety standards, and technology far beyond what most local universities currently produce. Some governments are beginning to respond by linking mining licenses with mandatory investments in education and training. Botswana’s once-successful partnership with De Beers, where diamond cutting and polishing became a domestic industry, remains a potential model for the rest of the continent.
Corruption and inconsistent policy environments further complicate matters. A sudden export ban or tax hike can unsettle investors, while weak enforcement can undermine the very beneficiation policies governments want to strengthen. For Africa’s mineral awakening to succeed, policymakers must walk a fine line between nationalism and pragmatism—asserting sovereignty without scaring away the capital and expertise needed for industrial takeoff.
Regional Cooperation: The New Frontier
Another crucial element is regional integration. No single African country can realistically build a full battery supply chain on its own. However, through cross-border collaboration, the continent can leverage its diverse resources and infrastructure. The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which creates a single market of 1.3 billion people, offers an unprecedented platform to coordinate industrial policy.
The DRC-Zambia partnership is a pioneering step. The DRC brings cobalt and copper; Zambia offers nickel and logistical expertise. Together, they seek to co-develop industrial parks and attract investment in battery manufacturing. If successful, this model could inspire other clusters across Africa—for instance, linking Mozambique’s graphite with South Africa’s manufacturing base or integrating West Africa’s manganese into regional supply networks.
Building such regional ecosystems would also enhance Africa’s negotiating power with external partners. Instead of competing against one another for extraction contracts, countries could compete on value creation and collective strength—a fundamental shift in mindset.
The Role of Innovation and the Private Sector
While governments are pushing the strategic vision, transformation will ultimately hinge on the private sector’s ability to innovate and scale up. African entrepreneurs and startups are already exploring opportunities in recycling, battery assembly, and renewable-powered mining.
In Kenya, startups are experimenting with battery recycling to recover cobalt and lithium from used electronics. In South Africa, companies like Bushveld Minerals are developing vanadium-based energy storage solutions tailored to African grids. Such innovations could help the continent leapfrog traditional industrial barriers, positioning it not just as a raw material supplier but as a hub for green technology.
International investors, too, are taking notice. Several European and Asian firms are scouting opportunities for joint ventures in mineral processing, drawn by lower costs and proximity to resources. However, investors will only commit long-term if Africa ensures regulatory stability and clear policy signals—a consistent challenge across the mining sector.
A Defining Moment
As the clean energy revolution accelerates, Africa stands at a crossroads. It can continue on the familiar path of exporting unprocessed materials and importing manufactured goods at a premium, or it can build integrated industries that transform mineral wealth into human capital and economic sovereignty.
This time, the political will appears stronger, the global context more favorable, and the strategic leverage unprecedented. Yet achieving structural transformation will require a disciplined focus on governance, education, and regional integration. The continent’s mineral riches offer a rare opportunity not just to fuel the world’s future, but to shape its own.
For Africa, the question is no longer whether it will participate in the new green economy—it already does. The real question is on whose terms.
