Unlocking Africa's green riches: from extraction to industrialisation - monetising critical minerals for sustainable development

Africa stands at a pivotal moment. Blessed with an abundance of critical minerals essential for the global green energy transition, the continent faces a profound paradox: How can this immense natural wealth translate into genuine prosperity and self-determined development, rather than perpetuate cycles of dependency?

For too long, Africa's vast resources have fueled external economies while leaving its own populations grappling with a significant financing gap, estimated at over $3.3 trillion for the Second Ten-Year Implementation Plan (STYIP) of Agenda 2063. The recent Ibrahim Governance Weekend (IGW), held from June 1-3, 2025 in Marrakech, under the theme "Financing the Africa We Want", brought this urgent challenge to the forefront, emphasising that the era of relying on inadequate external financing models must end.

Continental institutions, such as the African Union, must advance beyond mere policy formulation, particularly concerning critical minerals. There is an urgent need to revitalise the implementation of the Africa Mining Vision (AMV), adopted by African Heads of State and Government in February 2009. The AMV was a direct response to the paradox of abundant mineral wealth coexisting with widespread poverty in Africa, aiming to transform the mining sector into a key driver of economic growth and broad-based sustainable development.

Since the AMV's adoption sixteen years ago, the African Union Commission has developed several implementation instruments. These include the Africa Minerals Governance Framework (AMGF), the Geological and Minerals Information System (GMIS), the African Minerals and Energy Resource Classification Management System and Pan-African Resources Reporting Code (AMREC-PARC), and most recently, Africa’s Green Minerals Strategy (AGMS). These policy instruments represent Africa's proactive response to address the paradox of significant mineral wealth alongside pervasive poverty.

The AMV is a holistic framework that encourages thinking beyond conventional mining. It emphasizes not merely optimising tax revenues from mining and ensuring their judicious expenditure — though these are crucial — but rather integrating mining more effectively into local, national, and regional development policies.

Additionally, an African Union Commodity Strategy, a flagship project of Agenda 2063, was introduced by Member States in 2022. It aims to transform Africa from a raw material supplier by enabling countries to add value, extract higher rents from commodities, integrate into global value chains, and promote diversification anchored in value addition and local content development.

These principles were also central to discussions at the "Africa-Europe High-Level Dialogue on Critical Transition Minerals", a parallel meeting that was held at the 2025 IGW. This roundtable focused on revitalising Africa-Europe cooperation on transition minerals, aiming to unlock new opportunities and establish a renewed approach to cooperation and related investment in sustainable mining and processing projects across the African continent.

All these policy documents serve as negotiating instruments, guiding Africa's engagement with other global initiatives.

The path forward for Africa is clear: the continent must take decisive action to monetise its critical minerals not merely through extraction, but through a transformative journey towards industrialisation. This requires moving beyond fragmented solutions and embracing a comprehensive, multi-pillar strategy for domestic resource mobilisation. By modernising revenue generation, leveraging internal wealth, formalising the informal sector, and fostering innovation, Africa can unlock its immense potential and secure a prosperous, sustainable future for all its citizens. The time for a new narrative is now – one where Africa's green riches truly empower the continent to finance the development it desires and deserves.