Africa’s critical minerals endowment: A big opportunity for global strategic realignment – Salami (See some pictures)

A mining, metals, and minerals expert Advisor, Dr. Femi Salami, has said that the global race for critical minerals is being driven by three main factors: economic growth, technological advancement, and national security.

Dr. Salami, who is Managing Director, MinePro and Energy Ltd, noted that economically, countries seek to boost revenue and strengthen their Gross Domestic Product (GDP)s through mineral exploration and exports; that technologically, these minerals are essential for producing semiconductors, data centers, and smart devices, while from a defense perspective, they are vital for developing missile systems, ammunition, and armored vehicles.

He, however, pointed out that individual nations must carefully assess and prioritize these drivers based on their unique regional and developmental needs.

The expert, who leads global engagements on critical minerals for clean energy, stressed, for instance, that most developing countries, particularly in Africa, pursue critical minerals primarily for economic reasons: to enhance government revenue, create jobs, and drive GDP growth, while in contrast, developed nations such as the United States focus more on securing these resources for national defense and strategic security, rather than direct revenue gains.

Making these points while speaking at different fora during the just concluded World Bank/IMF 2025 Annual Meetings in Washington DC, Dr. Salami emphasized that understanding these nuances is crucial, especially for African countries, which host more than 40% of the world’s critical mineral reserves, insisting that this awareness should guide African nations during negotiations and partnerships on mineral development and investment with advanced economies.

He noted that it is a well-established fact that Africa is richly endowed with vast mineral resources, highlighting that the continent’s metallogenic framework and historical data indicate it holds about 76.3% of the world’s platinum group elements (PGE), over 40% of industrial diamonds, and around 50% of global cobalt reserves – a key component in the rapidly growing electric vehicle (EV) battery industry.

Dr. Salami concluded by stating that while Africa is well-positioned to take center stage in the global green energy transition due to its abundant natural resources, the critical question remains: “Can Africa build the systems and institutional frameworks necessary to transform its natural endowments into sustainable economic and strategic power?”