Critical minerals in Africa

5. Conclusions and recommendations

Africa holds significant critical mineral resources, many of which remain unmapped or underexplored. Demand for cobalt, copper, graphite, lithium, manganese and nickel is expected to rise with the digital and green transitions, defence needs and advanced manufacturing. Yet Africa accounts for only around a tenth of global critical mineral exports, most of which leave the continent raw or semi-processed.

This gap between resource endowment and economic benefit reflects constraints in exploration, governance, infrastructure, finance, skills and market access, compounded by international trade and investment rules. The challenge is not simply to extract more minerals, but to capture a greater share of the value they generate. The current mineral boom offers an opportunity to address these constraints, but doing so requires coordinated action by African governments, regional institutions, international partners and supply chain actors.

5.1. Main conclusions

Gaps in knowledge and governance weaken countries' bargaining position. Africa receives a small and declining share of global exploration spending, much of it concentrated in gold. Under-resourced geological surveys and gaps in reliable data can weaken governments' negotiating positions. Opaque contracts, limited competition in licensing and weak tax enforcement further constrain public revenues, with many mineral-rich countries reportedly collecting only around 40% of their potential revenues.

Value addition is held back by missing foundations rather than lack of ambition. Processing and manufacturing remain concentrated outside Africa, reflecting constraints in electricity, transport, finance, skills and economies of scale. Export bans, quotas and levies may support domestic processing objectives, but their effects depend on local conditions and implementation. Where competitive alternatives are lacking, such measures can reduce export earnings, deter investment and encourage informal trade. Regional approaches offer opportunities to pool resources, expand markets and develop processing capacity at a viable scale.

Responsible business conduct is a precondition for quality investment. Environmental damage, labour and human rights abuses, and links between mineral trade and conflict remain significant concerns, particularly in fragile contexts. African countries have developed important frameworks to address these risks, including through the ICGLR, although implementation and verification remain uneven. Due diligence and traceability requirements also need to account for local production structures: approaches that exclude artisanal producers can undermine livelihoods and shift trade into less transparent channels.

The international environment both constrains African producers and gives them leverage. Tariff escalation, carbon border measures, older bilateral investment treaties and WTO rules on export restrictions can affect African countries' efforts to develop processing and manufacturing. At the same time, competition among China, the European Union, the United States, Gulf states and other partners creates opportunities for African governments to negotiate arrangements that reflect their development priorities. To date, however, international engagement has focused largely on securing mineral supplies, with less investment in processing, infrastructure and industrial capabilities within Africa.

5.2. Recommendations

5.2.1. For African governments

• Strengthen geological knowledge and data systems. Modernise national geological surveys, digitise existing records, develop technical expertise and adopt harmonised classification and reporting standards such as AMREC–PARC. Use improved data to inform licensing, investment decisions and national development strategies.

• Enhance transparency and accountability in licensing and contracts. Expand competitive bidding where appropriate, strengthen due diligence on applicants, publish contracts and beneficial ownership information, and deepen implementation of the EITI. Improve alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to address land and mining conflicts more efficiently.

• Design fiscal regimes that balance public revenues and investment. Combine royalties, corporate income tax supported by effective audit capacity, and resource rent taxes to capture windfall profits. Align incentives with national development priorities, including processing and downstream activities, and provide predictable rules supported by transparent assessments of costs and benefits.

• Align industrial policy with national priorities and market conditions. Integrate critical minerals strategies into national development plans. Before introducing export restrictions or other measures to encourage domestic value addition, assess whether processing capacity, energy, infrastructure, finance and market demand are sufficient to support them. Where such measures are adopted, apply them transparently and predictably. Develop local supplier capabilities in engineering, logistics and services alongside employment opportunities.

• Support the formalisation of artisanal and small-scale mining. Develop context-specific approaches that expand legal recognition, access to finance, occupational safety, environmental support and participation in formal supply chains.

• Strengthen environmental protection and community participation. Ensure that mine closure and rehabilitation are adequately funded and enforced, protect sensitive areas, assess water availability and involve affected communities in decisions throughout the mining cycle.

5.2.2. For regional and continental institutions

• Expand regional value chains through the AfCFTA. Improve trade facilitation, address tariff and non-tariff barriers in line with AfCFTA commitments, and invest in cross-border infrastructure that supports intra-African trade in mineral products.

• Coordinate regional industrial development. Explore opportunities for processing hubs that serve multiple countries and connect mineral-producing areas to corridors such as Lobito, TAZARA and Walvis Bay. Improve coordination on investment incentives to limit costly competition and support viable regional markets.

• Promote regulatory cooperation and compatible standards. Build on the Africa Mining Vision, the African Green Minerals Strategy and the ICGLR Regional Initiative against the Illegal Exploitation of Natural Resources to improve consistency across regulatory, fiscal and certification frameworks while accounting for national circumstances.

5.2.3. For international partners and consuming economies

• Match supply partnerships with investment in value creation. Complement offtake agreements with investment in processing, infrastructure, energy and skills. Use blended finance and risk guarantees to support commercially viable projects and strengthen productive capacity in mineral-producing countries.

• Ensure international frameworks support development objectives. Assess the implications of trade measures, investment agreements and sustainable finance frameworks for value addition in Africa. Engage producing countries in addressing policy tensions between supply security, market access and industrial development.

• Support institutional capacity in response to national priorities. Provide sustained financing and technical cooperation for geological surveys, mining authorities and customs administrations, including in data management, contract negotiation, revenue collection, due diligence and traceability.

5.2.4. For companies and other supply chain actors

• Apply due diligence in ways that support responsible engagement. Design proportionate risk-based traceability systems that enable artisanal producers to participate in formal markets. Engage local communities and producer organisations in monitoring, accountability and the resolution of concerns.

• Strengthen local economic linkages. Expand local procurement where commercially feasible, invest in skills and supplier development, disclose payments to governments and provide for mine rehabilitation throughout the project cycle.

Africa's critical minerals offer an opportunity to strengthen productive capacity, expand regional trade and increase the economic value generated from the continent's resources. The extent to which this opportunity translates into lasting benefits will depend on how African countries define and pursue their development priorities, the effectiveness of regional cooperation, and the terms on which international partnerships are established.

Progress does not depend on a single policy instrument. It requires approaches that reflect different national circumstances while addressing shared constraints in infrastructure, finance, market access and industrial capacity. Regional cooperation can help achieve economies of scale, while international partners and companies have a role in aligning investment, trade and sourcing practices with value creation in producing countries.

Dialogue between mineral-producing and mineral-consuming economies, including through the OECD Critical Minerals Initiative, can help identify areas of mutual interest and address differences in policy priorities. The objective is not only to build resilient and responsible supply chains, but also to ensure that the countries supplying critical minerals can pursue their own development objectives and capture a gter share of the value generated by global demand.