{"id":835308,"date":"2025-08-18T14:42:38","date_gmt":"2025-08-18T12:42:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=835308"},"modified":"2025-08-18T14:42:42","modified_gmt":"2025-08-18T12:42:42","slug":"africas-rare-mineral-moment-can-the-continent-seize-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/industry-news\/835308\/africas-rare-mineral-moment-can-the-continent-seize-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Africa\u2019s rare mineral moment: Can the continent seize it?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em><strong>By Derrick Roper<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Africa is home to many of the minerals that will power the global clean energy transition. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But unless the continent shows a sense of urgency to move quickly up the value chain, it risks repeating the mistakes of past resource booms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder; color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-family: Lato, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17.6px; white-space-collapse: collapse;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/novare.com\/contact\/?utm_source=BusinessTech&amp;utm_medium=Article&amp;utm_campaign=August+2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">For more information about Novare Investments, click here.<\/a><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The shift away from fossil fuels presents nations with a rare opportunity to escape the extractive trap and capture greater value from the surging demand for critical minerals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet the foundations needed to swiftly seize this moment \u2013 skills, infrastructure, and regulatory certainty \u2013 are all areas that are slow to build and slower to reform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Without urgent, coordinated action with the private sector, history could once again leave ordinary people behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Demand for critical minerals continues to rise, despite President Donald Trump\u2019s rollback of US green energy policies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the International Energy Agency\u2019s Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2025, the market value of copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite and rare earth elements could double by 2040.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Africa holds some of the richest deposits. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) produces more than 70% of the world\u2019s cobalt. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>South Africa holds roughly 80% of global manganese reserves and supplies vanadium and platinum group metals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Zimbabwe has large lithium resources, while Namibia, Tanzania and Malawi are advancing rare earth projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yet Africa captures only a sliver of the value. For decades, the continent\u2019s role has been limited to digging up ore, shipping it out, and importing finished products at a premium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), countries that export raw minerals capture less than 10% of the value of the final product. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With investment in refining and beneficiation, that figure could rise to 40%\u201350%, depending on the mineral.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What\u2019s at stake isn\u2019t just revenue. It\u2019s industrial development, job creation and economic sovereignty. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s also about preventing a scenario where governments bear the environmental and social costs left behind by mining companies, without a meaningful return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A geopolitical shift<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>As Western governments seek to \u201cde-risk\u201d supply chains away from China, African producers have a gap to renegotiate their role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>China controls nearly 90% of the global rare earth processing market. In 2023, Beijing restricted exports of gallium and germanium \u2013 two metals used in advanced manufacturing \u2013 raising alarm in Washington and Brussels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Trump\u2019s earlier trade war had already exposed US vulnerabilities in the supply of minerals critical to solar panels, batteries and defence systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some African governments are stepping up to benefit. Namibia and Zimbabwe have banned exports of unprocessed lithium. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Zimbabwe also announced a $2.8bn battery manufacturing venture with China\u2019s Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt. In South Africa, the Industrial Development Corporation invested R3.5bn in the Kalagadi Manganese Project in the Northern Cape, which includes on-site alloy and sinter refining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Across the continent, eight rare earth projects \u2013 including Phalaborwa and Steenkampskraal (South Africa), Makuutu (Uganda), Ngualla (Tanzania) and Songwe (Malawi) \u2013 were on track for commissioning by early 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Benchmark Mineral Intelligence forecasts that these projects could lift Africa\u2019s share of global rare earth output to 9% by 2029.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Namibia\u2019s Lofdal project has completed a production pilot, and Angola\u2019s Longonjo mine, backed by an $80m loan from Absa, aims to supply 5% of global magnet-metal demand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The DRC has signed agreements with the US and EU to develop downstream capacity. But progress remains slow, constrained by infrastructure and governance gaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Changing the nature of deals<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Africa\u2019s beneficiation push is beginning to attract institutional capital and changing how deals are structured globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Novare\u2019s recent commitment to anchor a $150m (R2.8bn) funding round for American Resources Corporation via an investment in ReElement Technologies reflects that shift. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the project expands ReElement\u2019s refining operations in Indiana, it also signals our intent to claim Africa\u2019s place in the global supply chain \u2013 not just as a source of raw materials, but as a stakeholder in high-value refining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>ReElement\u2019s modular, environmentally sustainable refining technology is well-suited to African markets, where grid-scale power is limited and environmental regulations are evolving. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It offers a pathway for scalable beneficiation that doesn\u2019t rely solely on mega-infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Africa is also attracting high-profile backers. Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates have invested $537m in KoBold Metals, which is exploring African mineral deposits using artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Still, severe constraints remain. Processing plants require a large upfront investment and long lead times. The electricity supply is unreliable. Transport infrastructure is poor. And regulatory frameworks remain patchy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Labour organisations have warned that without proper oversight, the critical minerals boom could repeat past cycles of exploitation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Research by IndustriALL Global Union indicates that formalising artisanal and small-scale mining in countries such as the DRC and Zimbabwe could boost productivity and safeguard workers, turning extractive growth into sustainable employment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Drawing on proposals from the AfDB, the African Union, SADC, and leading global think tanks, African governments should take five urgent steps: invest in core infrastructure, ensure regulatory clarity on royalties and licensing, foster technology partnerships, develop skills pipelines, and enforce beneficiation clauses in mining contracts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to unify trade across 54 countries, could serve as a powerful catalyst. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lithium mined in Namibia could be refined in South Africa and then processed into batteries in Kenya \u2013 if harmonised trade rules and cross-border logistics can keep pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A turning point<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Africa has been here before. Past commodity booms \u2013 whether in copper, oil, or gold \u2013 often ended in busts, were captured by political elites, or resulted in missed opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But this time is different. The global demand for energy transition minerals isn\u2019t a temporary spike \u2013 it\u2019s a structural shift that will shape the next several decades.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The prize is not just higher revenues. It\u2019s a seat at the table in shaping the global green economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For African leaders and investors, the goal must be to shift from being price takers to value creators: from extraction to refining, manufacturing, and achieving global competitiveness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The upcoming G20 Summit in South Africa \u2013 the first to be hosted on the continent \u2013 highlights Africa\u2019s growing strategic significance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s a chance to push for fairer terms in the clean energy transition, including investment in beneficiation and secure, transparent partnerships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Africa holds what the world wants. The real question is: can we rise to the occasion?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bolder; color: rgb(33, 37, 41); font-family: Lato, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17.6px; white-space-collapse: collapse;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/novare.com\/contact\/?utm_source=BusinessTech&amp;utm_medium=Article&amp;utm_campaign=August+2025\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">For more information about Novare Investments, click here.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With demand for rare earth minerals soaring, African nations are striving to move beyond extraction and unlock greater value through refining and industrial investment, writes Derrick Roper, the co-founder of Novare Holdings and MD of its private equity division.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":835312,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10459],"tags":[23389,15101],"class_list":["post-835308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry-news","tag-derrick-roper","tag-novare-investments"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/57"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=835308"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835308\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":835313,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/835308\/revisions\/835313"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/835312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=835308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=835308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=835308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}