The New Scramble for Africa: Why Critical Minerals Matter More Than Ever

The New Scramble for Africa: Why Critical Minerals Matter More Than Ever

In 1884, European powers sat in Berlin to divide Africa for it's land and oil. Today, a new "scramble" is happening, but the Prize for it has changed. Instead of oil, superpowers are fighting over critical minerals like cobalt, lithium, and rare earth elements. These are the resources needed to build electric vehicles, smartphones, Al, and advanced weapons. The politics for this century is simple: oil shaped the politics of the 20th Century, but these minerals are shaping the 21st century. And once again, Africa is at the center of this race.

For a long time, the West treated like a giant supermarket where they just packed raw materials and left. But African countries are finally changing the rules of the game using "resource nationaliom". For example, the DR Congo produces over 70% of the world's cobalt. Through their regulator (ARECOMS) they have put strict limits on exports until 2027 to force foreign Companies to process the minerals locally. Zimbabwe did the same thing by banning raw lithium exports. Africa is refusing to be just mining site anymore.

This new stance is a direct threat to China, which currently controls the global market. China had realized this decades ago, that controlling the resource markets means not just mining a resource, but knowing how to refine and process it into processed materials (semi-finished goods) like batteries. Today, Beijing is weaponizing this monopoly. Because of trade fights with the US-China recently banned major American mining companies (like MP materials) from getting processed materials. Since China has spent billions buying up mines across Africa, they currently hold a massive chokehold on global technology. 

In response, the US and Europe are spending on a massive transport project called the "Lobito Corridor". They are rebuilding a 1,300-kilometer railway line to connect the mineral rich areas of Congo and Zambia directly to the Atlantic Ocean in Angola. The goal is to create a fast shipping route to the West that bypasses china entirely. Right in the middle fight sits Nigeria, with massive, untouched deposits of lithium, tin, and rare earths. The biggest test now is whether Nigeria will build local factories to process them, or repeat the same corruption and mistakes we made with oil. However, Nigeria is making attempt

by pushing for local processing over raw export. 

To understand where this leaves us, Michael T. Klare warned that the 21st century would be defined by a brutal "race for what's left" of the world's resources. But as Daron Acemoglu argued in his work, having minerals is not enough, it is about building strong, honest local institutions. The real question for Africa is no longer how much mineral wealth we have under the ground, but whether our leaders will build the right systems to ensure that wealth actually benefits the citizens living above it.

🖋️Mabel Ogunleye, 

Editor-in-Chief (EIC)

DSNA