A landmark study released by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) at the Mining Indaba reveals that Africa holds an estimated US$29.5 trillion in mine-site mineral value. Despite accounting for roughly 20% of global mineral wealth, the continent currently captures only a small fraction of the economic potential embedded in these resources.
The report, titled the Compendium of Africa’s Strategic Minerals, argues for a fundamental shift in strategy: moving away from being a “marginal supplier” of raw materials and toward becoming an integrated industrial hub.
The Gap Between Endowment and Execution
The AFC identifies several critical barriers that have historically prevented Africa from realizing its full economic potential:
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Under-Exploration: Approximately US$8.6 trillion of Africa’s mineral wealth remains undeveloped due to fragmented geological data and limited transparency, which inflates risk for investors.
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The Processing Paradox: Mine-site values vastly understate true potential. The AFC notes that value expands by an order of magnitude when minerals are processed into finished goods like steel, batteries, and fertilizers.
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External Dependency: Many African supply chains are currently “tethered” to Asian industrial cycles rather than African development. This was recently evidenced by production quotas in the DRC and suspensions in Gabon following a slowdown in the Chinese property market.
Infrastructure as the Critical Link
The Compendium reframes infrastructure not just as a support system, but as the primary driver of mineral value. To make local processing (beneficiation) viable, the report emphasizes three pillars:
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Power & Logistics: The cost and reliability of electricity and transport connectivity are the ultimate deciders of whether a project can move beyond raw extraction.
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Shared Corridors: The AFC calls for targeted investment in cross-border power transmission and shared rail corridors (such as the Lobito corridor) to unlock scale and reduce costs.
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Green Industrialization: Modern infrastructure can reduce carbon intensity, making African minerals more attractive in a global market that increasingly demands traceable, low-carbon supply chains.
Navigating a Fragmenting Global Economy
As global trade tensions rise and nations seek to reduce supply chain concentration, Africa’s strategic relevance is growing. The AFC suggests the continent should focus on segments where it can offer “reliable, value-adding alternatives,” particularly in minerals with highly concentrated markets like manganese, rare earths, graphite, and uranium.
Emerging Momentum Across the Continent:
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Angola: Developing one of the world’s largest high-grade rare earth deposits.
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Mozambique: Serving as a key anchor for graphite and anode materials.
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Southern Africa: Advancing projects for battery-grade manganese sulphate.
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Namibia & Malawi: Resuming uranium production as of 2024-25.
“The Compendium maps full value chains and links reserves and production to processing capacity, power and transport infrastructure… to guide smarter investment into mining and the enabling infrastructure needed for beneficiation.” — Samaila Zubairu, President & CEO of AFC
By aligning mineral production with its own long-term needs for housing, power, and transport, Africa can finally “rewire” its endowment into a pathway for collective prosperity.