Why Africa’s critical minerals were a hot debate at COP29

Critical minerals. Transition minerals. Green minerals. Strategic minerals. At COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, these terms floated around in debates, during negotiations and on panel discussions. Many people following this year’s COP were, however, hearing these phrases for the first time.

In Baku, the United Nations announced that critical minerals will be a key pillar of the agenda at COP30 in Brazil next year. 

So, what are they and why do they matter?  

The United Nations University (UNU) defines critical minerals as a subset of minerals crucial for the manufacturing and technological needs of companies and industries worldwide. 

Also known as ‘‘transition-critical minerals’’ (TCM), these are rare earth metals such as cobalt, nickel, copper, lithium and silicon, among others. They are used to produce magnets and other vital components used in solar panels, wind turbines and other inputs in renewable energy technologies. 

But why are they so important? 

The manufacture of an electric car, for instance, requires six times more minerals than that of a petrol or diesel car. To build a wind farm, about nine times more critical minerals are required than to build a natural gas plant. 

Both electric cars and wind turbines use up to seven different types of minerals. This puts critical minerals at the centre of the green transition as the world quickly shifts to e-mobility and renewable energy forms.

How has this conversation evolved over the years?

The concept of critical minerals has gained overwhelming popularity in recent years owing to new technologies shaping the ongoing green and digital transitions, also known as the ‘‘twin transition’’.

Experts say the low-carbon technologies needed to facilitate the energy transition required for the world to attain net-zero emissions will take place off the back of these minerals, in line with the Paris Agreement.

Different predictive models show that by 2040, the demand for lithium will grow by 40 times. Graphite, cobalt and nickel will also grow in demand by between 20 and 25 per cent. At the same time, the demand for copper will more than double.

Why was Africa at the centre of this global debate?

Foremost, Africa boasts the largest deposits of critical minerals. When it comes to critical mineral reserves, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is virtually peerless. The DRC boasts 70 per cent of the world’s cobalt reserves and has substantial deposits of lithium, copper, tin, tantalum and untapped gold. 

At 36 per cent, South Africa is the world’s largest producer of manganese, followed by Gabon, which produced 4.6 million metric tonnes of the mineral in 2023. 

Other African countries with expansive deposits of critical minerals include Guinea Conakry (Bauxite), Zimbabwe (lithium) and Zambia (copper).  

Secondly, critical minerals are the main component in the manufacture of renewable and clean energy technologies in the low-carbon transition. 

And what is the contention around critical minerals?

For decades, Africans have felt undercut in the production of critical minerals, an industry historically shrouded in mystery and suspicious deals that favour foreign mining corporations at the expense of local communities.

But it is in the extraction and processing of critical minerals that the main bone of contention lies. Today, China dominates the global critical mineral industry. The manufacturing giant processes about two-thirds of all critical minerals in the world, with 65 per cent of lithium, 74 per cent of cobalt and 100 per cent of natural graphite.

China also refines up to 50 per cent of all copper globally, even though the DRC owns between 20 and 25 per cent of copper reserves in the world.

In Africa’s mining industry, human rights violations are also endemic. Mining is almost synonymous with labour exploitation, dangerous working conditions and even physical abuse for workers. In DRC’s cobalt and copper mines, labourers live in appalling poverty levels while mineral agents and buyers make a killing from precious stones.  

Denis Gyeyir, Africa senior programme officer at the Natural Resource Governance Institute, says mining corporations must respect local legislation, ambitions, norms and rights. 

‘‘It is in bad taste to exploit local communities in their production processes to satisfy their ambitions,’’ says Gyeyir. 

Were any solutions proposed?

For months, the African Minerals Development Centre has been developing an ‘‘African Green Minerals Strategy’’, which will guide countries as they exploit their raw materials. 

At the same time, individual countries such as Zambia are developing national strategies to guide the production of these minerals to reap maximum benefits from their wealth. 

Africa is calling on wealthy nations to help develop the value chains of its critical transition minerals, with energy and development experts arguing that Africa’s wealth underneath will power millions of homes on the continent and spur industrialisation. 

However, critical minerals expert Kudakwashe Manjonjo argues that climate finance must be linked to green industrialisation in developing countries for this to happen. 

Technology transfer

This explains why the conversation on green minerals featured prominently in the financing debate for Just Transitions at COP29. ‘‘Most importantly, wealthy nations must facilitate the transfer of technology, including machinery and techniques, for processing their minerals,’’ says Manjonjo, a renewable energy associate at Power Shift Africa.

He adds: ‘‘Transferring this technology is also essential in enhancing the efficiency of solar panels, for instance.’’ 

Gyeyir notes that this commitment by developed countries to transfer technology must be demonstrated at this COP. ‘‘They must share best practices and technical assistance to promote fair value chain development. But this is nothing without an environment that helps to retain local benefits.’’

‘‘The finance goal of this COP needed to align with the principles of the UN Secretary-General Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals,’ adds Gyeyir. 

Experts have also advocated for people and planet-focused industrial policies that promote green industrialisation in developing countries as provided for in the Just Transition Work Programme (JTWP). 

The JTWP is a new initiative of the UNFCCC that aims to promote pathways which ensure that the goals of the Paris Agreement are achieved justly and equitably. These pathways cover several dimensions, including social protection.

In their push, African delegates were demanding that a provision for financing Africa’s green industrialisation be featured in the New Collective Quantified Goal for climate finance. 

But at the heart of the demands were calls to promote people-centred participation and ownership of critical minerals production through local legislation and policy. Africans also asked for robust economic partnership and reconciliation with local communities and trade unions. 

‘‘Like China has done over the decades, Africa should pursue an industrialisation strategy by starting with critical mineral processing and gradually scaling up to high-value industries. They can then move to areas such as electrical vehicles and green technologies,’’ says Fadhel Kaboub, an economist and Just Transition expert. 

Gyeyir agrees, insisting that developed countries must commit to responsible investment and fair trade in developing transition mineral value chains. 

‘‘One way to do this is to offer fair finance while reforming the global tax structure.  African countries must also enforce strict application of global standards by mining companies. It is unfair for countries to apply less stringent compliance measures for mining companies from developed countries.’’ 

In September this year, Mining CS Hassan Joho sensationally claimed that 95 per cent of all mining activities in Kenya are illegal. About 100,000 Kenyans derive their livelihood from mining, according to data from non-governmental organisation Impact. 

Recognising artisanal miners 

CS Joho’s claim puts the spanner in the works of different mining companies and individuals involved in extracting precious stones in Kenya.  

Now different African civil society groups want artisanal and small-scale miners recognised, supported and protected by legalising and formalising jobs in the sector to protect livelihoods.  

‘‘The industry must be founded on humane labour conditions that inspire job security and safety for artisanal miners,’’ adds Manjonjo, arguing that this approach is good for livelihoods and the environment. ‘‘It will help to develop more inclusive economies with decent work opportunities and greater protection of the environment.’’ 

Experts, though, warn that critical mineral wealth alone will not turn the continent into a manufacturing powerhouse. According to them, only a Pan-African industrial policy ‘‘cemented in the just transition’’ will help to unlock Africa’s potential to extract and utilise its mineral wealth ‘‘with meaningful gain’’.

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