The race to secure critical minerals for the global energy transition is creating a fresh opportunity for Africa to rethink its position in the global mining industry, but whether the continent can turn its vast natural resources into lasting industrial wealth will depend on its ability to move beyond extraction and build competitive processing and manufacturing industries.
A proposed fivefold increase in World Bank Group financing for the metals and minerals sector, targeting $19 billion over the five years to 2030, could provide an important financial boost to that ambition, particularly for resource-rich African economies seeking to retain more value from their mineral wealth.
The financing expansion, outlined in the World Bank’s October 2026 Commodity Markets Outlook, comes amid intensifying global competition for minerals used in electric vehicle batteries, renewable energy technologies, electricity infrastructure and advanced manufacturing.
For Africa, the opportunity extends beyond attracting more investment into mining operations. Funding for electricity, transport infrastructure, industrial facilities and private-sector development could help address some of the structural weaknesses that have prevented mineral-producing countries from establishing stronger domestic value chains.
However, the $19 billion target is neither exclusively for Africa nor restricted to critical minerals. It covers the broader metals and minerals sector across emerging market and developing economies. African countries must therefore compete for the available financing through viable projects, stronger investment frameworks and improved capacity to attract private capital.
Africa’s mineral wealth and the value-addition gap
Africa holds substantial deposits of minerals essential to the energy transition and advanced technologies, including cobalt, lithium, manganese, graphite, copper and platinum-group metals.
Despite this resource advantage, much of the continent’s mining industry remains concentrated on extracting and exporting raw or semi-processed materials, leaving higher-value activities such as refining, processing and manufacturing largely outside its borders.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Africa is already a major supplier of several minerals, including cobalt, manganese, bauxite and platinum-group metals. Expanding domestic processing, smelting and refining could significantly increase the economic contribution of these resources.
Analysis by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that 24 per cent of Africa’s critical mineral exports were raw materials, while 72 per cent were semi-processed products.
The figures highlight the continent’s limited processing capacity and the concentration of more lucrative stages of mineral production in other regions.
The implications extend to employment, industrial development and government revenue. Countries exporting minerals in raw or minimally processed forms capture only a fraction of the value generated across the supply chain. Processing and refining, by contrast, can stimulate additional industrial activity, create skilled employment and expand opportunities for local suppliers.
The World Bank’s proposed financing expansion could help address some of the constraints preventing African economies from moving further into these higher-value activities.
Infrastructure remains central to mineral development
One of the biggest obstacles to expanding mineral processing in Africa is the shortage of reliable electricity, efficient transport networks, water supply and industrial facilities.
Mineral processing is capital-intensive and requires consistent access to energy and logistics infrastructure. Without these essentials, locally processed products often struggle to compete with materials produced in established industrial markets.
The World Bank Group has identified infrastructure, including power, water and transport, as critical to connecting mineral-producing areas with processing facilities and manufacturing markets.
Its support also extends to geological data, workforce development, resource management and the mobilisation of private investment.
For African economies, this presents an opportunity to pursue financing that goes beyond the development of individual mines. Investments in electricity generation and transmission, railways, ports and industrial corridors could create the conditions necessary to process minerals closer to their sources.
Such infrastructure could also generate wider economic benefits by supporting manufacturing, agriculture and regional trade.
The opportunity is particularly relevant to countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Guinea, Ghana and Mozambique, where mineral resources could provide the foundation for broader industrial development.
From mineral exports to industrial production
The greater economic prize for Africa lies in connecting mineral extraction to manufacturing rather than remaining at the lower end of global supply chains.
Critical minerals are essential inputs for batteries, electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies, electricity networks and other advanced industrial products.
Developing domestic processing and manufacturing capabilities could allow African economies to retain a larger share of the value generated by these industries.
The IEA report, Stepping Up the Value Chain in Africa, identifies opportunities for countries to expand beyond extraction into mineral beneficiation, the production of energy-intensive materials and clean-energy technology manufacturing.
Among the opportunities highlighted are battery-grade graphite production in East Africa and high-purity manganese sulphate production in South Africa and Gabon.
These activities could expand employment opportunities while creating demand for engineers, technicians, logistics operators and specialised service providers. Processing facilities could equally stimulate local businesses, equipment manufacturing and other supporting industries.
The World Bank’s emphasis on mobilising private capital could prove important in attracting companies willing to invest in these activities. Public financing, guarantees and advisory support can help reduce some of the risks associated with large-scale industrial projects in emerging markets.
Nevertheless, access to financing alone will not guarantee the emergence of competitive processing industries. African governments must also address regulatory uncertainty, technical skills shortages, unreliable electricity and limited access to markets.
Regional cooperation could expand the opportunity
For many African economies, independently developing complete mineral-processing value chains may be difficult because of the enormous investment required and the limitations of their domestic markets.
Regional cooperation could provide a more commercially viable alternative.
Countries with complementary mineral resources could establish shared processing facilities, infrastructure corridors and manufacturing networks. Combining mineral supplies from different markets could improve economies of scale, reduce investment costs and connect producing areas to larger regional markets.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) could support this strategy by facilitating cross-border trade in mineral inputs, processed materials and manufactured products.
The OECD has also highlighted the potential of regional processing hubs, arguing that cooperation among countries could improve the commercial viability of processing facilities by pooling mineral supplies from multiple markets.
This approach could be particularly beneficial in Central and Southern Africa, where neighbouring countries possess complementary mineral deposits and existing mining and processing capabilities.
Governance will determine the economic returns
Africa’s experience with previous commodity booms offers an important warning: abundant mineral resources and increased foreign investment do not automatically translate into broad-based economic prosperity.
Expanding mining activities without adequate environmental safeguards, transparent resource management and meaningful local participation could leave host communities with limited benefits while intensifying pressure on land, water and public infrastructure.
There is also the danger that competition among African countries to attract foreign investors could encourage weak fiscal terms and poorly structured agreements, ultimately limiting the long-term economic returns from their natural resources.
However, Africa’s challenge is no longer simply to extract more minerals or increase its share of global mineral exports. It is to convert its resource advantage into industrial capacity, skilled employment, stronger regional supply chains and a greater share of the wealth generated by the global energy transition.
