African mining leaders have called for an end to the continent’s dependence on raw mineral exports, warning that failure to build domestic processing industries will allow foreign economies to capture the biggest profits from the global green transition.
The warning emerged during the African Critical Minerals Summit at the Indaba Hotel and Conference Centre in Fourways, Johannesburg.
The two-day gathering, which ends on Wednesday, brings together policymakers, investors, mining executives and industry specialists to discuss beneficiation, skills, infrastructure and regional cooperation.
Africa’s challenge is no longer proving that it possesses valuable resources. It is building the power systems, transport corridors, technical capabilities and coordinated policies needed to process those resources competitively before they leave the continent.
Minerals leave, profits return
Sentle Fenyane, chairperson of the African Critical Minerals Summit, said Africa possessed resources sought by the world but remained largely excluded from the profitable refining, manufacturing and sales stages of mineral value chains.
‘Africa holds minerals that the world is looking for, but Africa itself does not control these minerals,’ Fenyane told SABC News.
He illustrated the imbalance by suggesting that Africa could sell a raw mineral for ‘10 rand’ and buy it back as a finished product for ‘100 rand’.
The figures were illustrative rather than verified market prices, but reinforced his argument that the greatest returns are generated after raw materials leave the mine.
Fenyane questioned why Africa continued to behave like a ‘sleeping giant’ when minerals central to the global energy transition were located across the continent.
Africa possesses about 30 percent of global reserves of critical energy-transition minerals, according to the UN’s Africa Renewal platform.
The continent also produces more than 77 percent of the world’s cobalt, 65 percent of its manganese and 83 percent of its platinum-group metals. Yet much of the refining, component production and finished manufacturing takes place elsewhere.
Beneficiation becomes the battle line
Local beneficiation—the processing of minerals into higher-value materials—has consequently become central to Africa’s industrial ambitions.
Dr Mathews Phosa, a politician and chief executive of Phosa Legacy who is listed among the summit’s official speakers, said African countries must retain more of the mining value chain, from extraction and refining to transportation and sales.
‘We cannot be estranged from our own minerals,’ Phosa told SABC News.
He called for African minerals ministers to engage collectively with industry and coordinate legislation, transport networks and processing requirements.
‘No more sending raw minerals overseas,’ Phosa said. ‘The legislation must talk to one another. The rail lines must talk to one another.’
The argument reflects Africa’s changing critical-minerals policies as governments seek greater control over resources needed for electric vehicles, renewable energy, advanced electronics and defence technologies.
Countries tighten export rules
Several governments have moved beyond declarations.
Zimbabwe has restricted raw lithium exports while pressing mining companies to establish domestic processing facilities. Its lithium earnings reached $782.2m during the first half of 2026, nearly 230 percent higher than a year earlier, Finance Minister Mthuli Ncube said.
However, Zimbabwean miners have sought more time before a planned January 2027 ban on unprocessed lithium concentrate. Their request shows how beneficiation policies can collide with financing pressures, weaker prices and construction delays.
Mozambique has introduced legislation requiring domestic processing and a minimum 15 percent state stake in mining projects. Ghana has declared an ambition to process all minerals locally by 2030.
These measures demonstrate political determination, but export restrictions alone cannot create competitive industries. Processing plants require reliable electricity, substantial capital, technical expertise and dependable access to markets.
Botswana puts plans to the test
Botswana used the summit to propose a commercially disciplined approach to beneficiation, warning that mineral scarcity alone would not make processing projects investable.
James AH Campbell, managing director of Botswana Minerals, said each proposed move along the value chain should pass seven feasibility tests: mineral scale, power, water, logistics, technology, skills and market demand.
‘Scarcity does not finance weak projects,’ Campbell said in a conference paper prepared for the summit.
He proposed mineral-specific roadmaps to determine whether processing projects were commercially viable before governments imposed mandatory requirements.
Campbell outlined a 36-to-60-month strategy under which Botswana would seek one or two bankable regional processing or speciality-product investments. The plan would also develop cross-border supplier, technical-service and skills clusters across the Southern African Development Community.
He said progress should be measured through domestic value added, employment, private capital and the time required to convert mineral discoveries into operating projects—not declarations alone.
The paper also noted that Botswana’s government can acquire up to a 24 percent working interest in a proposed non-diamond mine following a 2025 legislative change.
If it exercises that option, the government would contribute its share of qualifying historical and future expenditure. This differs from a free-carried interest, under which the state receives a stake without funding its corresponding project costs.
Infrastructure, skills and communities
Regional processing will require affordable electricity, dependable railways and ports capable of connecting mines, refineries and manufacturers across borders.
The African Continental Free Trade Area could support specialised value chains in which countries perform different stages of production. That will depend on faster border procedures, compatible regulations and better transport links.
Universities, governments and mining companies must also develop engineers, geologists, metallurgists, technicians and artisans capable of operating increasingly automated mines and processing plants.
Local beneficiation will not automatically deliver inclusive development. Mining and refining can consume considerable energy and water while generating pollution and waste.
Governments will need enforceable environmental standards, transparent contracts and credible mechanisms for sharing revenue with communities. Otherwise, Africa could retain more processing while leaving its social and environmental costs concentrated among people receiving few benefits.
Implementation becomes the real test
Fenyane expressed frustration that Africa was still holding familiar conversations despite rising global demand for critical minerals.
‘We can’t go on talking and talking and talking,’ he said, adding that summit roundtables would seek practical ways to begin implementing the proposals.
Phosa similarly argued that Africa did not lack policies or speeches. Its persistent weakness had been implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
The summit’s credibility will therefore depend on what follows: coordinated regulations, bankable processing projects, infrastructure commitments and measurable deadlines.
Africa’s mineral wealth gives it leverage in a world seeking secure supplies. Whether that leverage produces lasting industrial power will be determined by the refineries, railway lines, training programmes and factories built after delegates leave Johannesburg.
