The latest scramble for Africa is driven by securing access to rare minerals used in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries for vehicles and stationary applications.The most strategic is China. According to Desmond Egyin of the Wilson Center, China currently owns 72% of the cobalt and copper mines in the Zambian and Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Copperbelt.A study by the Georgetown University Center for Security Studies found that China’s mining operations in the Copperbelt and lithium mining in Zimbabwe give the country a significant lead in semiconductor and battery production. This leaves the rest of the world increasingly dependent on Chinese innovation and manufacturing to drive global energy transitions and address climate change.Chinese mining companies are responsible for 8% of Africa-wide output, and are concentrated in Guinea, Zambia, DRC, South Africa and Zimbabwe, according to Eric Olander, co-founder of the China-Global South Project.The largest mining companies in Africa include BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto, Anglo American, Xstrata and Barrick, says online information service Africa Mining IQ.China is, however, the top destination for bulk exports.UNcomtrade data shows that China is by far the leading destination for sub-Saharan exports of bulk commodities such as iron ore, nickel ore, and copper ore. Metals, mineral products, and fuel represent about three fifths of the region’s exports to China.There is a drive to replace exports of bulk raw materials with value-added product.Nigeria banned the export of raw ore in 2022, Namibia and Zimbabwe the export of unprocessed lithium, and Ghana prohibited the export of raw bauxite. Jakkie Cilliers of ISS Africa writes that an increase in the number of commodity-dependent African countries has contributed to a relative decline in Africa’s competitiveness.He singles out Botswana as the only African country that has successfully and sustainably developed its resources sector (diamonds) to the general benefit of its population. Speaking at a function to mark the 40th anniversary of the founding of ‘The Guardian of Nigeria’, African Development Bank Group president, Akinwumi Adesina, said “the export of raw commodities is the door to poverty. The export of value-added products is the highway to wealth”.This will change if the African Union’s Agenda 2063 commodity-led industrialisation project succeeds. The strategy aims to identify, formulate and drive the implementation of policies and programmes that will enable African countries to add value, extract higher rents from their commodities, integrate into global value chains and promote vertical and horizontal diversification.
Access to commodities drives scramble for Africa
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