The master’s thesis “Energy Transition-Related Extractivism in Cabo Delgado” (Utrecht University, 2025) examines how large-scale LNG, graphite, and ruby mining projects in northern Mozambique intersect with ongoing insurgency and instability in Cabo Delgado province. Through a mixed-methods approach that combines field interviews, stakeholder mapping, and conflict analysis, the study explores how global demand for critical minerals and energy resources—driven by the energy transition—creates new pressures on a region already grappling with violent extremism and humanitarian crises.
The research highlights the tensions between national development agendas and local realities. While LNG and graphite investments are presented as engines of economic growth, the thesis finds that communities around project sites often experience displacement, reduced access to land and resources, and heightened security risks. In the case of ruby mining, operations in Montepuez have been linked to both formal corporate activity and artisanal mining under precarious conditions, which can become flashpoints for conflict. The author argues that the presence of insurgent activity complicates corporate-community relations, as residents often perceive extractive projects as benefiting outsiders while bringing additional military presence into their daily lives.
This study is particularly significant for understanding social license to operate in conflict-prone resource regions. It demonstrates that even when companies comply with legal and environmental standards, a lack of trust—amplified by security crackdowns, weak grievance mechanisms, and perceived inequities—can erode community acceptance. For Mozambique’s extractive sector, the findings underscore the need for more inclusive decision-making, transparent benefit-sharing, and coordinated security strategies that prioritize civilian protection. Without these measures, the very projects meant to fuel the global energy transition risk becoming catalysts for instability.