Kenyan President William Ruto announced at the G7 summit in France that his country is nearing a critical minerals agreement with the United States. Kenya insists that its rare earths, lithium, graphite, copper, nickel, and niobium be refined domestically rather than exported as raw materials.

This demand, long voiced but rarely enforced, is reshaping African resource governance. Namibia has banned exports of unprocessed lithium, cobalt, manganese, graphite, and rare earths. Mali is building a 200-tonne-per-year gold refinery, and Ghana will buy 30% of large-scale gold output from July 2026 to strengthen local refining.

The global race for critical minerals is intensifying. The International Energy Agency (IEA) projects lithium use will increase fivefold by 2040. However, new mines take over a decade to develop, giving African governments more leverage to negotiate local value addition.

UN data illustrates the value chain: in 2022, global exports of lithium ore and brine were worth about $20 billion, battery materials $51 billion, cell components and battery packs $106 billion, and electric vehicles $135 billion.

Expanding mineral processing in Africa could generate an additional $32 billion in annual exports and create about 2.3 million jobs. Nigeria's Dangote refinery, a $20 billion project, has transformed the country's energy sector by replacing fuel imports.

Indonesia banned unprocessed nickel ore exports in 2020, boosting processed nickel exports from under $1 billion to nearly $20 billion by 2022. Africa needs similar strategic intent.

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) can enable regional integration, allowing countries to specialize and build an industrial base none could achieve alone. The global energy transition offers Africa its best opportunity in generations to rewrite its economic history.

Source: www.aljazeera.com