Africa’s mineral wealth has long been described as extraordinary. Beneath the continent’s soil lies an estimated US$29.5 trillion in mine-site mineral value, roughly one-fifth of the world’s mineral wealth. Yet despite this geological advantage, Africa continues to capture only a small share of the economic value generated from its resources. The paradox is familiar across the continent. Raw minerals are exported while the higher-value industrial products made from those same resources are imported back at considerable cost.

A new publication developed in partnership with Mining Indaba, launched at the 2026 edition, argues that this pattern is neither inevitable nor sustainable. The Compendium of Africa’s Strategic Minerals, produced by the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) with the support of Investing in African Mining Indaba, offers a blueprint for transforming Africa’s mineral endowment into infrastructure, industrial capacity and integrated regional value chains.

Its central argument is that Africa’s mineral constraint is not geology, conversion. cracking the continent’s mineral potential will depend less on discovering new deposits and more on building the infrastructure, industrial ecosystems and investment frameworks required to convert resources into long-term economic value.

Unlocking Africa’s geological potential

Africa remains one of the world’s most under-explored mining regions, with fragmented geological data and limited transparency continuing to deter exploration investment. The Compendium argues that improving geological mapping, open data systems and digital geoportals could significantly reduce investor risk and unlock new discoveries. It also notes that Africa’s mineral potential may be far greater than current estimates suggest, while emphasising that the continent’s true economic opportunity lies not only in its deposits but in the industrial value chains built beyond the mine.

Reframing mineral strategy through an African lens

The Compendium reframes the mining sector through an African development lens, placing industrialisation, infrastructure and long-term domestic demand at the centre of mineral strategy. “AFC is proud to launch the Compendium of Africa’s Strategic Minerals, an initiative to reframe the sector through an African lens and convert endowment into execution pathways for our collective prosperity,” said Samaila Zubairu, President and CEO of AFC.

“The Compendium maps full value chains and links reserves and production to processing capacity, power and transport infrastructure, and regional industrial corridors, improving data transparency to de-risk exploration, lower the cost of capital, and guide smarter investment into mining and the enabling infrastructure needed for beneficiation and integrated regional value chains.”

Mining Indaba supported the development and launch of the publication as part of its broader mission to strengthen collaboration between governments, investors and industry.

“As global demand for strategic minerals accelerates, Africa’s role in shaping future supply chains is becoming increasingly important,” said Zeinab El Sayed, Director of Government and Institutional Partnerships at Investing in Mining Indaba. “This publication provides a much-needed, data-driven view of the continent’s mineral endowment and the infrastructure and industrial ecosystems required to unlock its full value.”

This partnership with AFC on the Compendium reflects Mining Indaba’s evolving role as a convening platform where governments, investors and industry align strategies to translate Africa’s mineral wealth into tangible development outcomes. It also emphasizes Mining Indaba’s broader mission to connect the ecosystem required to mobilise capital, coordinate infrastructure investment and forge the partnerships needed to move Africa’s minerals beyond extraction toward integrated value chains that deliver greater value for the continent.

Aligning mineral production with African demand

The report adopts a broader definition of strategic resources rather than focusing narrowly on widely discussed lists of energy-transition minerals. For Africa, minerals critical to infrastructure development, agriculture and industrial manufacturing including iron ore, phosphates, potash and aluminium inputs ,are just as strategically important as battery minerals such as lithium and cobalt. This reflects the continent’s development priorities, where minerals serve not only as export commodities but also as essential inputs for construction, energy systems, fertiliser production, transport equipment and emerging manufacturing sectors.

Yet the Compendium highlights a persistent structural misalignment within Africa’s mining economy: mineral production, enabling infrastructure and demand rarely co-locate at scale. The steel value chain illustrates the challenge. Africa hosts world-class deposits of iron ore and ferro-alloys such as manganese, chromium and nickel. Yet these supply chains remain commercially tied to external markets, particularly Asian steel demand rather than anchored in Africa’s own development trajectory.

This exposure has tangible economic consequences. Slowdowns in Asian steel demand have transmitted shocks directly into African mineral markets. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, cobalt production quotas were introduced to stabilise falling prices. In South Africa, primary steelmaking capacity has shut down amid weak domestic demand and rising costs. In Gabon, manganese producers have periodically suspended operations in response to softer alloy demand from Asia.

These disruptions are occurring even as Africa expands transport networks, power systems, housing and industrial capacity that require precisely these materials. The issue, the Compendium argues, is therefore not a lack of demand but a lack of demand anchoring. The failure to align mineral production, processing capacity and infrastructure investment with Africa’s long-term development needs.

Infrastructure as the backbone of mineral value chains

To address this gap, the Compendium places infrastructure at the centre of mineral strategy. Power reliability, transport connectivity and logistics networks ultimately determine whether mineral beneficiation and downstream processing are economically viable. The report maps mineral deposits alongside railways, ports, power generation hubs and transmission networks, identifying where regional mineral value chains can realistically emerge and where infrastructure gaps remain. In mineral-rich regions, targeted investments in shared rail corridors, cross-border power transmission and integrated logistics systems could unlock scale, reduce transport costs and support competitive industrial clusters.

Infrastructure will also shape Africa’s competitiveness in a world increasingly influenced by green industrialisation. Clean energy systems, efficient logistics and integrated transport corridors can reduce the carbon intensity of mineral processing while improving access to markets where traceable and low-carbon supply chains are becoming prerequisites. Projects such as the Lobito Corridor, linking Angola, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, illustrate how coordinated infrastructure can support both mineral exports and broader regional industrial development.

Africa’s strategic minerals in a changing global economy

The Compendium places Africa’s mineral strategy within a shifting global landscape shaped by trade tensions, industrial policy and efforts to diversify supply chains. It argues that Africa’s growing strategic importance will depend on its ability to move beyond raw exports and position itself within higher-value segments of global mineral supply chains.

Emerging developments already signal this shift, with Angola advancing major rare-earth projects, Mozambique becoming a key graphite supplier for battery anodes, battery-grade manganese sulphate projects progressing in Southern Africa, and uranium production resuming in Namibia and Malawi, highlighting Africa’s expanding role in energy transition, advanced manufacturing and digital infrastructure supply chains.As global demand for strategic minerals accelerates, the choices made today will determine whether Africa remains primarily a supplier of raw materials or emerges as a key industrial and technological partner in the global economy.

Investing in Mining Indaba invites governments, Institutions investors and industry stakeholders to engage with the findings of the Compendium and explore new opportunities for partnership, investment and regional collaboration.