Africa’s economic landscape has been largely shaped by mining, and the sector continues to be a major employer and contributor to the GDP and balance of trade of African nations. With 30% of the world’s mineral reserves, Africa accounts for 40% of gold, 90% of chromium and platinum, 70% of cobalt, 60% of manganese, 25% of bauxite and around 15% of copper. However, exploiting the full potential of these resources requires strong regional cooperation, harmonised regulations and collaborative efforts on the part of governments, private sector players and communities.
Africa is endowed with a wealth of mineral resources, including gold, silver, copper, uranium and cobalt. These minerals are essential to manufacturing processes around the world. The continent accounts for 30% of the world’s mineral reserves, and demand is expected to increase sixfold by 2050. In sub-Saharan Africa, the mining sector is a major economic driver, with a value of more than 108 billion USD in 2023. On average, the sector accounted for 10% of GDP in the 15 most mineral-rich countries in the region in 2021. However, in countries like South Africa, the mining sector faces a number of major challenges, including depletion of ore grades, loss of resources, environmental degradation and social problems.
“Just to give you an idea, we did around 6 billion rands’ worth of exploration. Going back to 2006–2007, we are now sitting at around 1 billion rand per year. It’s a very low number, and if we are to ensure sustainable mining production in South Africa going forward, we need to unlock that exploration activity. We have all of these resources underground, but we are not making full use of them”.
Hugo Pienaar, Chief Economist at the Minerals Council – South Africa
Home to abundant mineral reserves, Africa accounts for 40% of the world’s gold, 90% of its chromium and platinum, 70% of the world’s cobalt, 60% of manganese, 25% of bauxite, and about 15% of copper. These resources are essential to the development of greener technologies and infrastructures on a global scale. According to African mining ministers, there is a need to strengthen continental cooperation in areas such as mineral extraction, value creation, infrastructure development and trade.
“The role of the government is to facilitate, from a legislative and policy framework perspective, so that investors can focus on mining and bringing finished products to market”.
Lefoko Maxwell Moagi, Former Minister of Mines and Energy – Botswana
Africa’s mining sector is at a crossroads, with its vast mineral reserves poised to fuel the development of the continent and the planet. However, unlocking this potential requires strong regional cooperation, harmonised regulations and collaborative efforts from governments, private sector players and communities.
“The state needs to do more than just collect taxes. It needs to play the role of an economic operator through national public-private partnerships, with the country’s oldest players, to really move in this direction. In this case, we would be at service level. Let me remind you that 80% of mining operations are held by the services, whether it’s laboratory analyses, mine drilling or fuel supply, for example. So there is a whole range of services that could greatly benefit the national private sector”.
Doro Niang, Geological engineer – Senegal
As the world shifts towards clean energy solutions, demand for these resources is expected to grow rapidly. For example, BHP Billiton predicts that the global demand for copper will increase by 70% by 2050 compared to 2020. Given Africa’s significant share of global copper and other critical energy mineral reserves, the continent is well-placed to develop sustainable initiatives and projects.
