2027 Agenda

Can and should Africa move beyond mining and into the supply chain?

While Africa holds significant geological rare earths potential, much of the value created through refining, separation and magnet production remains concentrated elsewhere. As rare earths continue to be a powerful energy transition metal, can investment meet the pace needed for growing demand and can Africa move beyond extraction to become a meaningful participant in higher-value stages of the rare earth value chain.

The big questions

• Should African nations consider capturing refining/separation on the continent?
• What partnerships could be required to build commercially viable rare earth value chains?
• Will manufacturers invest upstream to secure non-Chinese supply and should they pay premiums for provenance and qualification?