Posted on 15 Nov 2024
Following a new report suggesting Africa could generate $6.8 billion in annual revenues with the refining of critical minerals, a new group has been launched to bridge public and private investment stakeholders, Kallanish Power Materials learns.
London-based Critical Minerals Africa Group (CMAG) seeks to foster “deeper relationships” between Africa and global markets, to unlock the region’s full critical minerals potential. Such ties would create “resilient and diversified” supply chains, while ensuring local communities benefit from economic development, it says.
“There is a huge opportunity for African businesses and governments to become global leaders in an industry which is of ever-increasing significance to the world economy,” comments CMAC chief executive Veronica Bolton Smith. “There is an equally large opportunity for international firms to ramp up their exposure to African markets and capitalise on the enormous growth potential Africa offers.”
“CMAG has been launched to empower these stakeholders with the tools, knowledge, and relationships they need in order to succeed,” she continues.
The group notes that Sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to hold around 30% of the proven critical mineral reserves in the world. If harnessed properly, the International Monetary Fund estimates that increased commodity revenues alone could increase Sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP by 12% or more by 2050, CMAG adds.
Earlier this month, a report launched by the UK’s Manufacturing Africa programme and the Faraday Institution highlighted that one refinery for each mineral – lithium, nickel, manganese and copper – could create 3,500 jobs across the battery supply chain. It says that the Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe have abundant reserves and ongoing extraction of the four critical minerals.
The research estimates that Morocco and Tanzania, for example, could potentially achieve battery manufacturing costs of $72 and $68/kilowatt-hour. This compares to $68/kWh in Europe, where costs are lowered by subsidies.
Source:Kallanish Power Materials
