Africa to capitalise on trends

Multiple global factors have aligned to create significant opportunities for mining companies in Africa.

“Research by the African Development Bank highlights the significance of the sector for the continent,” says Shirley Webber, Coverage Head of Resources & Energy at Absa CIB.

“The organisation estimates Africa’s extractive resources could contribute more than $30bn per annum in government revenue for the next 20 years and that revenues from recent hydrocarbon and mineral discoveries could contribute from 9% to 31% of additional revenues over the first 10 years of production for countries such as Ghana, Liberia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda.”

The abundance of “green” metals in Africa, such as lithium, nickel, graphite and cobalt, offers a prolific opportunity for the continent amid the growing urgency around achieving decarbonisation targets.

“These potentially gamechanging economic contributions for African countries will assist in driving development, but it is important we create an enabling environment that allows Africa to realise this potential,” she says.

Capitalising on the opportunities created by trends such as the just energy transition, decarbonisation and the resultant commodities super cycle will require focused investment by stakeholders in the private and public sectors, with capital set to follow sustainability. In this regard, investments that improve infrastructure to enhance export volumes have become a strategic imperative for African countries to maximise miningderived revenue.

According to the World Bank Container Port Performance report, which reviews 370 port operations globally, 10 African ports rank in the bottom 15.

“As a frontier market, it is perhaps unsurprising African countries are at the tail-end of this ranking. However, it is vital to get these ports working to realise the economic multiplier effect,” says Webber.