Ending the Mineral Wealth Paradox Key to Africa’s Growth – Prof. Denton

By Praisebell Rosemond Larbi

“Africa’s mineral wealth must no longer be a paradox of abundance without prosperity,” Director of the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA), Prof. Fatima Denton, has declared following the release of a landmark report on critical minerals and development across the continent.

The report, titled “Africa Redefining Critical Minerals for a Shared Future: South-South Solidarity in Action,” was released on Thursday, February 12, 2026. It calls for deeper cooperation among countries in Africa, Latin America, and Asia to transform mineral resources into engines of industrialisation, energy security, and technological advancement.

Speaking on the findings, Prof. Denton stressed that Africa’s mineral endowment must serve not only global demand but also the continent’s own development priorities.

“Africa’s minerals are critical not only for the world’s decarbonisation agenda but for Africa’s own industrialisation, energy security, and technological advancement,” she said.

Turning Resources into Development

The report argues that despite holding vast reserves of critical minerals, Africa remains largely positioned at the lower end of global value chains. As a result, mineral wealth has not translated into broad-based economic transformation.

According to the study, Africa controls nearly one-third of the world’s critical mineral reserves, including cobalt, lithium, manganese, and copper key inputs for renewable energy systems, electric vehicles, battery storage, and digital infrastructure. However, most of these minerals are exported in raw or minimally processed form, limiting value addition, job creation, technology transfer, and domestic industrial growth.

To reverse this trend, the report urges African governments to embed minerals into domestic production systems by investing in local processing, manufacturing, skills development, and research and innovation ecosystems.

It estimates that global revenues from copper, nickel, cobalt, and lithium alone could reach US$16 trillion by 2050. Sub-Saharan Africa, the report suggests, could capture more than 10 percent of this value if appropriate policy frameworks, industrial strategies, and regional coordination mechanisms are implemented.

Focus on South-South Cooperation

A central pillar of the report is the promotion of South-South collaboration among Africa, Latin America, and Asia. It advocates shared technological development, coordinated investment strategies, and knowledge exchange to build resilient green value chains.

The study calls for a new model of multilateralism anchored in solidarity among developing economies, enabling countries of the Global South to co-design industrial policies and shape the global decarbonisation agenda rather than merely supplying raw materials.

By pooling expertise and negotiating collectively, these regions can enhance bargaining power, improve governance standards, and secure fairer participation in global mineral markets.

C-MINK and Mineral Governance

The report forms part of UNU-INRA’s Critical Minerals Information and Knowledge Hub (C-MINK) initiative, which seeks to position Africa at the centre of global mineral governance discussions.

C-MINK serves as a platform bringing together policymakers, researchers, and investors to translate research into actionable strategies for sustainable mineral development. According to UNU-INRA, the initiative aims to ensure that mineral ownership translates into effective governance, strategic control, and tangible economic value for African nations.

Relevance for Ghana and the Region

For Ghana and other mineral-producing countries in West Africa, the report’s release comes at a time of heightened global interest in lithium, bauxite, manganese, and other strategic minerals critical to the energy transition.

While government efforts to expand local processing and promote value addition are underway, structural challenges persist, including infrastructure deficits, limited financing, regulatory bottlenecks, and technological gaps.

Prof. Denton’s message underscores a broader imperative: that Africa’s mineral wealth must catalyse structural transformation, not reinforce dependency. The opportunity, she suggests, lies not merely in extraction but in ownership of value chains, innovation capacity, and regional solidarity.

The report ultimately calls for a shift from resource extraction to resource transformation, ensuring that Africa’s mineral abundance becomes a foundation for prosperity rather than a continuation of historic imbalances.