A new competition for Africa’s critical minerals is reshaping global energy and technology supply chains, driven by demand for lithium, cobalt, graphite, and rare earth elements essential for electric vehicles and renewable energy. Unlike the colonial era, this scramble is conducted through trade agreements, investment deals, and diplomatic engagements rather than military conquest.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) sits at the heart of this competition, with the Democratic Republic of Congo dominating cobalt, Zimbabwe holding major lithium deposits, and South Africa controlling vast platinum and manganese reserves. Despite this resource concentration, the region largely exports raw materials with minimal local processing or value addition.
West Africa’s Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) possesses significant bauxite, lithium, and gold reserves, but political fragmentation and inconsistent governance risk undermining coordinated development. Without regulatory harmonisation, individual countries may compete to attract foreign investment, weakening collective bargaining power.
The East African Community (EAC), with emerging graphite and rare earth deposits, has made progress in customs integration. The key question is whether this framework will expand to support strategic mineral processing and regional manufacturing.
Continental strategy exists in the African Union’s African Mining Vision and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). However, these frameworks require alignment between regional blocs to shift from raw material exports to integrated value chains. Without such coordination, the AfCFTA could primarily facilitate commodity extraction rather than industrialisation.
External actors—including the European Union, China, the United States, and Gulf states—are securing long-term supply agreements. This engagement is not inherently exploitative, but Africa’s response will determine whether the continent captures lasting economic benefits.
Experts suggest regional blocs should move beyond declarations to implement common mineral pricing, mandatory beneficiation targets, transparent contract registries, and sovereign wealth funds. Infrastructure development must prioritise industrial corridors over extraction-only logistics.
The outcome will decide if critical minerals anchor Africa’s structural transformation or perpetuate dependency under the guise of the green transition. With established regional institutions, Africa’s choice lies between passive extraction and strategic industrial coordination.
