Critical minerals give SADC a chance to turn resource wealth into industrial power

Southern Africa is facing a strategic opportunity to turn its vast critical-mineral resources into a foundation for industrial growth, but doing so will require the region to move beyond the export of raw materials.

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has placed critical-mineral beneficiation at the centre of its industrialisation agenda as global demand rises for the raw materials needed for batteries, electric vehicles, renewable energy systems and electricity infrastructure.

The region holds nearly 30% of the world’s proven critical-mineral reserves, including about 50% of global cobalt reserves and 20% of graphite reserves, according to figures cited by South Africa’s International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola as the country assumed the SADC chair for 2026-27.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is a major source of cobalt, Zambia is a leading copper producer, Zimbabwe has become an important lithium supplier, while South Africa holds significant resources of platinum-group metals and manganese.

But the availability of resources alone does not guarantee industrial development.

For decades, many African economies have exported minerals with limited processing, leaving much of the higher-value stages of the supply chain to countries outside the continent.

SADC says its industrialisation strategy is designed to change that model. Mineral beneficiation processing and adding value to minerals before export is one of the region’s three preferred resource-based industrialisation pathways, alongside agro-processing and industry- and services-driven value chains.

The objective is to develop regional supply chains capable of connecting mining with processing, manufacturing and related services.

At its Industrialisation Week in July, SADC called for greater investment in critical-mineral beneficiation, infrastructure and regional value chains, arguing that these areas are essential to creating jobs and ensuring that industrialisation delivers broader economic benefits.

The opportunity comes as governments and companies worldwide seek secure supplies of minerals essential to the energy transition.

That is increasing the strategic importance of countries with large deposits. But it also raises the risk that Africa could remain primarily a supplier of raw materials while processing and manufacturing capacity develops elsewhere.

For SADC, the challenge is therefore not simply to attract mining investment, but to attract investment further down the value chain in refining, processing, battery materials and other industrial activities.

The regional bloc has already identified potential projects in areas including energy storage, copper and mining inputs, with the aim of turning its industrialisation plans into investable projects.

Building processing industries requires more than mineral deposits. Reliable electricity, transport networks, logistics, skilled workers, technology and access to finance will determine whether companies can process minerals competitively within the region.

SADC’s industrialisation programme therefore places infrastructure development alongside mineral beneficiation and regional integration. Its 2026 Industrialisation Week specifically highlighted energy, transport, logistics, water and digital infrastructure as priorities for strengthening regional production.

South Africa, which assumed the SADC chairmanship for 2026-27, has made critical-mineral beneficiation and regional industrialisation key priorities. The country also wants to increase intra-SADC trade, currently estimated at around 20%, to 50%.

The global race for critical minerals could bring billions of dollars in investment to Southern Africa. But the long-term economic impact will depend on how much of that value remains in the region.

If countries succeed in developing regional processing and manufacturing chains, mineral wealth could support new industries, skilled employment, technology transfer and stronger intra-African trade.

If not, the region risks repeating a familiar pattern: exporting its natural resources while importing higher-value products made from those same resources.

For SADC, the central question is therefore no longer simply how much mineral wealth the region possesses, but how much economic value it can create from it.

The shift from extraction to beneficiation could determine whether Southern Africa becomes merely a major supplier of the energy transition or one of its industrial beneficiaries.