Critical Minerals Africa Summit 2023 explored continent’s role in global mineral supply chains

The Critical Minerals Africa 2023 summit was held in Cape Town this week (17-19 October), with a high-level ministerial panel addressing the future of African mineral resource development, as the continent’s mineral reserves gear up to power a global energy transition.

The Critical Minerals Africa 2023 summit, organized by Energy Capital & Power, serves to position Africa as the primary investment destination for critical minerals. Held alongside the African Energy Week 2023 conference, the high-level event offered delegates access to the full scope of energy, mining and finance leaders. Mining ministers and senior government officials from South Sudan, Malawi, Tanzania and Zimbabwe united to outline transformative visions for their respective critical minerals sectors and efforts to attract foreign partnerships and cement the continent’s geopolitical position as a global minerals hub.

The high-level panel sought to explore the future of Africa’s minerals economy in light of growing demand for clean energy technologies and mounting pressure to decarbonize existing mining activities and maximize resource efficiency. It also focused on how sustainable practices, localized supply chains and integrated mining operations will help secure critical minerals supplies of the future.

Africa’s mining ministers emphasized the urgency in establishing value-added industries to mining activities, with countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania and Zimbabwe having implemented raw mineral export bans to encourage investment in domestic mineral processing capabilities. To that end, panelists discussed how local governments can incentivize investment across the entire mining value chain, with a view to stimulating job creation and skills development.