Working together, governments, the private sector and regional bodies can solve the infrastructure problems hobbing the growth of the mining sector in Africa. Photo by Emmanuel Croset/AFP
Southern Africa’s critical minerals have reached a critical moment. The global transition to clean energy has created unprecedented demand for minerals essential to manufacturing electric vehicle batteries, solar panels and other green technologies.
Although it holds 30% of the world’s known critical mineral reserves, it processes only a fraction. Instead, it extracts and exports these raw materials while importing expensive finished products.
To transform from a hub of mineral extraction to a centre of processing and manufacturing, Africa must overcome major barriers: unreliable electricity, lack of technical expertise, high investment costs and the need for unprecedented regional coordination.
The scale of this challenge — and opportunity – is clear. For example, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) produces over 70% of the world’s cobalt, crucial for electric vehicle batteries but China refines 60% of cobalt. China also refines 40% of copper, 59% of lithium and 95% of rare earth minerals.
Bauxite illustrates the enormous economic opportunity. A ton of bauxite sells for $65, but when processed into aluminum, its value rises to $2 335 (end-2023 prices).
This positioning at the bottom of the value chain has left many African countries impoverished and at the mercy of commodity price fluctuations.
On the other hand, the transformation of Southern African countries to hubs of critical mineral mining, processing and manufacturing would create skilled jobs, build modern industries and earn more from exports. In addition, it would better position them to lead rather than just supply the global energy transition.
By making the clean-energy technologies the world needs, the region could create more wealth for citizens while playing a pivotal role in the fight against climate change.
Zambia illustrates both the potential and the hurdles ahead. Between 2016 and 2020, the country was the world’s largest exporter of unrefined copper. Holding 6% of global copper reserves, it produces 800 000 tonnes annually. While the government aims to quadruple production to 3 million tonnes by 2031, the bigger challenge is moving up the value chain.
This requires addressing the region’s chronic power shortages. The push to process more minerals locally demands significantly more electricity, even as countries commit to reducing fossil fuel use.
However, the region’s abundant solar potential offers an opportunity to develop renewable energy at scale, supporting both processing facilities and a just energy transition, ensuring that the shift to clean energy creates economic opportunities for communities either dependent on fossil fuels or operating without power.
Beyond energy, the region faces a significant skills gap in mineral processing, from skilled operators to management expertise. High capital costs deter investment in a region often perceived as high risk. Finally, creating regional value chains requires unprecedented coordination of policies and infrastructure across multiple countries.
Recent initiatives show promise in tackling these obstacles.
Major infrastructure investments are creating new possibilities. The Lobito Corridor — connecting Zambia and DRC to Angola’s Atlantic port of Lobito — would give landlocked countries direct access to international markets. A UN policy brief highlights how this corridor could enable an integrated battery and electric vehicle manufacturing value chain, leveraging Zimbabwe’s lithium reserves alongside Zambia’s copper and cobalt.
Such regional integration is essential for achieving the scale needed to make processing facilities viable and to coordinate energy solutions across borders.
Countries are also strengthening their policy frameworks. Zambia’s new mineral policy and National Critical Minerals Strategy (2024 to 2028) create regulatory certainty for investors while ensuring local benefits.
In addition, new partnerships are emerging — the DRC and Zambia are collaborating on battery production for two- and three-wheeled electric vehicles popular in African markets.
On the technical front, the UN Development Programme’s new Minetech hub in Lusaka, part of its broader timbuktoo initiative, aims to support youth-led startups driving innovation in sustainable mining and mineral processing.
By de-risking investment capital and supporting the startup ecosystem, the hub would help drive technological advancement in sustainable mining and critical minerals processing, while promoting value addition throughout the African region.
These efforts require sustained support. Multi-lateral organisations like the UN Development Programme play a crucial role in supporting African governments through providing technical assistance, capacity building and investment facilitation. This partnership approach, built on collective decision-making, is essential to build public support and enable more ambitious climate action.
By systematically addressing these challenges, while advancing clean energy solutions, Southern Africa can transform its role in the global economy, creating better jobs, building modern industries and helping drive the world’s transition to clean energy.
The foundation is being laid. The question is whether the region can maintain the momentum needed for this historic transformation.
James Wakiaga is Zambia’s UN Development Programme resident representative.
