Africa’s vast reserves of critical minerals are increasingly shaping the continent’s politics, as governments face growing pressure to turn underground wealth into reforms, jobs and better living standards.
But experts and leaders meeting in Accra, Ghana, this week warn that without stronger governance, the same resources could deepen poverty, fuel conflict and entrench the leadership failures that have long dogged mineral-rich states.
As of 2026, UN data shows that Africa holds nearly a third of the world’s critical mineral reserves, including cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese, nickel, graphite, bauxite (aluminium), platinum and other rare earth metals. These resources are spread across the continent in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Tanzania, South Africa, Zambia, Guinea, Mali and Morocco.
This means Africa’s role in the global energy transition, through the production of car batteries, hydrogen power technologies, electronics and electric vehicles, for example, is increasingly significant.
The question, however, as experts noted, is who in Africa will decide how and when these minerals are mined. “The global transition to clean energy, digital technologies and advanced manufacturing has placed our continent at the centre of a profound economic transformation. The minerals found beneath African soil — cobalt, lithium, manganese, coltan, graphite, rare earth elements and others — have become indispensable to the world’s future,” said Binaifer Nowrojee, President of the Open Society Foundations. “The more important question is whether we can govern these resources in ways that strengthen democracy, deepen public trust and create shared prosperity.”
She was speaking virtually on Monday at the opening of the three-day High-Level Conference on Governance, Critical Minerals and Conflict in Africa in Accra, organised by the Open Society Foundations. Leaders, policymakers, civil society representatives, researchers, private sector stakeholders, peacebuilders and development partners are examining the links between critical minerals, governance and conflict, while exploring opportunities for greater value addition, community participation, regional cooperation and African-led solutions.
According to Ms Nowrojee, democratic governance should not merely be an aspiration that sits alongside development, but the foundation that makes sustainable development possible.
Yet, in Africa, mineral and oil wealth has often come with a curse. The Democratic Republic of Congo, one of the most mineral-rich countries in the world, is also among the most frequently cited when discussions turn to conflict. Rebel groups have emerged in mineral-rich areas, becoming conduits for illegal mining and smuggling. “There has always been a link between conflict and the poor governance of the mining sector in my country. Most of the decisions do not involve local people, and many are forced into rebel groups or smuggling,” said Patient Bashombe Matabishi, coordinator of Congolese civil society groups and leader of the NGO Dynamic Community for Cohesion and Social Development (DYCOD-RDC). “We also know that international entities profit from this conflict by driving wedges between communities. The absence of community cohesion benefits these groups. Creating divisions or fuelling conflict has become a strategy to extract minerals without paying their true value to the Congolese people,” he toldThe EastAfricanon the sidelines of the conference.
The DRC is among the African countries that have recently been reviewing mineral agreements with external partners, seeking greater involvement in rebuilding infrastructure and promoting peace and stability. It renegotiated a deal with China, demanding a greater role for Beijing in road construction. In November, the United States oversaw the Washington Accord between Rwanda and the DRC, part of a complex, long-term effort aimed at restoring peace in eastern Congo and encouraging regional cooperation around mineral resources.
Africa’s minerals are also seen as strategically important to global powers. In its national security strategy, Washington has framed African critical minerals as essential to diversifying supply chains away from China, securing resources for clean energy and advanced manufacturing, and deepening partnerships through investment, infrastructure and diplomatic agreements. It identified corridors such as Lobito in Angola, along with bilateral frameworks with mineral-rich African states, as key components of this strategy.
The biggest challenge, however, may lie in how countries choose leaders who will, in turn, manage mineral wealth and determine how revenues are redistributed. “Critical minerals are important to state sovereignty, and I think taking a multi-level governance approach will be critical. It means recognising not just the existence of these minerals, but also the impact they have on local communities,” said Mikhail Nyamweya, a political and foreign policy analyst and panellist in a session on geopolitics, regional cooperation and South-South solidarity. “We tend to focus so much on the negative effects and environmental hazards associated with mining, but we need to go further and understand how communities will benefit. Will mining create jobs? Will it build technological and institutional capacity?”
On Monday, Bishop Matthew Kukah of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Sokoto and a member of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development said African countries were creating bureaucracies filled with people who obstruct the equitable distribution of wealth. “The challenge for us is what to do next, because we see what is happening around the world,” he said in a keynote address. “We are paying too little attention to elections and focusing instead on those who emerge from them. We do not examine the conveyor belts that bring these people into office.”
He argued that by focusing on individuals rather than the systems that elevate them to power, African countries overlook the reality that many leaders are backed by entities that have little interest in improving governance or advancing the welfare of citizens.
Bishop Kukah has long been outspoken on governance issues in Nigeria and has recently warned that the country must improve its electoral system if it is to contribute meaningfully to Africa’s stability.
