Africa’s Mineral Wealth Faces Existential Threat Without Industrialization – Experts Warn

Development experts have cautioned that Africa’s vast mineral wealth could lose its global relevance if the continent fails to industrialize and develop local processing capacity to drive its own economic transformation.

Speaking at the Annual Professor Alexander Adum Kwapong Lecture held at the University of Ghana, Legon, scholars, policymakers, and development practitioners underscored the urgent need for Africa to move beyond extraction and build value through manufacturing and industrial integration.

They warned that despite holding some of the world’s largest reserves of cobalt, lithium, nickel, and other critical minerals essential for the global energy transition, Africa risks being left behind as technological advances and shifting geopolitical interests redefine global demand for natural resources.

Madam Sheila Khama, Sustainable Development Policy Advisor and former Director at the African Natural Resources Centre of the African Development Bank (AfDB), described Africa’s mineral wealth as facing an “existential threat” due to rapid technological changes and the rise of mineral substitutes.

She emphasized that Africa’s true economic potential does not lie in the abundance of its raw materials but in its ability to refine, manufacture, and integrate them 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. New innovations like man-made substitutes and seabed mining for polymetallic nodules could soon render some of Africa’s mineral assets obsolete,” Madam Khama said.

She cautioned that the prevailing narrative of Africa’s mineral dominance is a “false premise” that often misguides policymakers into overestimating the continent’s bargaining power.

“The most significant challenge is our lack of an industrial ecosystem to consume what we produce,” she added. “We remain suppliers in a global system that rewards innovation and manufacturing, not extraction.”

Madam Khama also lamented that the continent’s dependence on exporting raw materials makes its economies highly vulnerable to price shocks and external manipulation, a situation worsened by inadequate infrastructure, unreliable energy supply, and weak collaboration between academia and industry.

She further criticized the short-term focus of African politics, saying that “party politics often overshadows the politics of nation-building,” thereby undermining long-term policy planning for sustainable development.

The United Nations Resident Coordinator for Ghana, Mr. Zia Choudhury, also called for a unified continental strategy to harness Africa’s mineral resources for industrialization.

He noted that while Africa holds a central place in the global green transition, providing essential minerals for batteries, electric vehicles, and renewable energy, the continent could once again become a supplier of raw materials if it fails to build local industries.

“Our chance for green industrialization will only materialize if countries invest in domestic industries and develop integrated value chains. Otherwise, we risk missing another opportunity to translate mineral wealth into social and economic progress,” Mr. Choudhury said.

Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, also called for a shift from “mere extraction to transformation,” noting that Africa’s development depends on its ability to add value to its natural resources.

She warned that while critical minerals offer enormous potential for industrial growth and value creation, governance lapses and environmental degradation, especially from illegal mining, continue to undermine that promise.

“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 universities across the continent to intensify research and innovation in mineral beneficiation, energy technology, and industrial policy to support evidence-based decision-making.

Participants at the lecture concluded that Africa’s mineral future depends on deliberate investment in industrial capacity, regional collaboration, and value retention. They stressed that without sustained reforms and long-term commitments in research, infrastructure, and education, the continent risks watching its mineral wealth lose relevance in the fast-changing global economy