A Resource Boom with Limited Returns
Across the continent, governments are awakening to a sobering reality: possessing critical minerals is no guarantee of prosperity. Africa may hold nearly one- third of the world’s reserves of lithium, cobalt, nickel, and rare earths, yet much of this wealth continues to leave the continent unprocessed. Analysts warn that unless countries rapidly expand local refining and manufacturing capacity, Africa risks watching others capture the real value of the green transition—through the technologies, jobs, and industries built on its raw materials.
Breaking the Extraction Trap
Most African economies remain positioned at the bottom of the value chain, exporting unrefined minerals while importing the finished technologies that those same resources make possible. This dependency limits revenue generation and reinforces structural inequalities. The bottleneck lies not in geology but in policy and infrastructure: insufficient investment in processing plants, inconsistent energy supply, and limited access to industrial financing. Without a deliberate shift toward beneficiation and regional industrial integration, Africa’s mineral boom could become yet another cycle of extraction without transformation.
Turning Minerals into Momentum
Industrialization is the hinge between resource wealth and real development. By building domestic capacity in processing, battery production, and clean-energy manufacturing, African countries could retain far greater value, create skilled employment, and strengthen their negotiating power in global supply chains. The urgency is clear: as new technologies evolve and global demand shifts, countries that fail to industrialize may find their minerals losing relevance before they ever translate into prosperity. The challenge is not only to mine the future—but to build it at home.