From vibrating smartphones to satellites, critical minerals are embedded in the technologies that people worldwide use daily. As world governments look for ways to slow climate change, demand for critical minerals, the foundation of less-polluting transportation and renewable energy infrastructure, continues to rise.
A DW data analysis found that countries across Africa are increasingly important in producing critical minerals. Most of the cobalt, platinum, tantalum and manganese in use are extracted on the continent.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), critical minerals could boost sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP by 12% in the next 25 years. In fact, the IMF reports that the global energy “transition, if managed properly, has the potential to transform the region.”
The race to extract critical minerals has reshaped cities and fueled conflict between countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda.
“We’re going to be contributing to the climate issue, but unfortunately, we may not benefit as we should,” said Sylvain Ilunga Muleka, a senior metallurgy technician in Kolwezi, in the southern DRC. He is the leader of the efforts to relocate members of his community, where expanding mining operations are forcing residents to move elsewhere.
“Many African countries have fragile governments, and that makes the respect of environmental principles by mining companies across Africa a major challenge,” said Jimmy Munguriek, a lawyer and the DRC country director of Resource Matters, an NGO that focuses on research into and advocacy for the protection of natural resources.