Development experts are warning that Africa’s vast endowment of critical minerals could lose its global value if the continent fails to industrialise and invest in processing capacity to support its own development.
They cautioned that despite holding some of the world’s largest reserves of cobalt, lithium, nickel, and other minerals vital for the green energy transition, Africa risks becoming economically stranded as technological changes and geopolitical rivalries reshape global demand.
The call was made at the Annual Professor Alexander Adum Kwapong Lecture held at the University of Ghana, Legon, which brought together scholars, policymakers, and development practitioners to discuss Africa’s position in the global mineral economy.
Madam Sheila Khama, Sustainable Development Policy Advisor and former Director at the African Natural Resources Centre of the African Development Bank (AfDB), said the continent’s natural wealth faces an “existential threat” due to rapid advances in technology and the emergence of mineral substitutes.
She explained that while Africa’s mineral abundance is often celebrated, its true economic power lies not in extraction but in the ability to refine, manufacture, and integrate those resources into global value chains.
“The value of minerals such as cobalt, lithium, and nickel is determined not by how much of it lies underground, but by the technologies that depend on them,” Madam Khama said. “New innovations like man-made substitutes and seabed mining for polymetallic nodules could soon render some of Africa’s mineral assets obsolete.”
She described the widespread perception of Africa’s mineral dominance as a “false premise” that misleads policymakers into believing the continent holds greater bargaining power than it actually does.
“The most significant challenge is our lack of an industrial ecosystem to consume what we produce,” she said. “We remain suppliers in a global system that rewards innovation and manufacturing, not extraction.”
Madam Khama said the continent’s inability to process and consume its own raw materials leaves its economies vulnerable to price shocks and external manipulation.
She linked this to persistent deficits in infrastructure, energy reliability, and weak collaboration between academia and industry.
She also criticised the dominance of short-term political cycles, arguing that “party politics often overshadows the politics of nation-building,” undermining the long-term policymaking needed to secure Africa’s mineral future.
Mr. Zia Choudhury, United Nations Resident Coordinator for Ghana, also emphasised the urgency of Africa adopting a coordinated strategy to leverage its mineral wealth for sustainable industrialisation.
He said that while Africa occupies a central position in the global energy transition, supplying minerals essential for batteries, electric vehicles, and renewable energy, the continent could again be relegated to the role of a raw material source if it does not build strong domestic industries.
“Our chance for green industrialisation will only materialise if countries invest in domestic industries and develop integrated value chains,” Mr. Choudhury said. “Otherwise, we risk missing another opportunity to translate mineral wealth into social and economic progress.”
Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, called for a paradigm shift from “mere extraction to transformation,” stressing that the continent’s development depends on its ability to convert mineral resources into finished products.
She observed that while critical minerals offer Africa a pathway for value creation and industrialisation, governance challenges and environmental degradation from illegal mining have often turned resource wealth into a liability.
“The future of Africa’s critical minerals lies in our choice to either be defined by a new scramble driven by external interests, or to forge a renaissance built on African innovation, ownership, and governance,” Professor Amfo said.
She urged African universities to deepen research and innovation in mineral beneficiation, energy technology, and industrial policy to support governments in crafting evidence-based strategies.
Participants at the lecture agreed that Africa’s mineral future must be defined by industrial capacity, regional cooperation, and value retention.
They underscored that without decisive policy reforms and long-term investment in research, infrastructure, and education, the continent risks watching its mineral wealth lose relevance in the rapidly evolving global economy.
