While oil, coal, and gas remain key energy sources, renewable energy consumption has grown almost tenfold since the early 1990s. Africa is an important player in shaping the world’s future energy mix, housing a majority or significant proportions of the rare earth metals associated with the clean energy transition.
The continent also has other resources that fall outside renewable use. Over a quarter (27%) of the world’s gold is mined on the continent, the highest by any region, while around 30% of all global mineral reserves are found in Africa.
Africa’s share of rare earth metals—including copper, lithium, cobalt, manganese, and zinc—is causing China, the United States, and Europe to compete for mining projects across the continent, creating new growth opportunities for host countries.
Below are five leading mining projects on the continent that are part of the changing global energy mix landscape.
Sentinel Copper Mine, Kalumbila, Zambia
Global demand for copper is skyrocketing. The pinkish-orange metal is crucial to battery, wind turbine, and solar power technology, with demand possibly reaching 50 million metric tons by 2035. However, it has also been projected that global demand may exceed global supply by as early as 2025, with it taking around 20 years to open a copper mine.
This makes Africa’s 21% share of global copper supply crucial to the energy transition. Among the leading mines on the continent is the Sentinel Copper Mine, located in Kalumbila in northwest Zambia. It holds one of the biggest copper reserves in the world with operational continuity expected to continue till 2033, having begun production in 2016. Around 6,000 people work in the mine and produce around 300,000 tons of copper concentrate annually.
Kamoa-Kakula Copper Mine, Muvunda, Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) already has a major stake in the green revolution, with the world’s largest cobalt mine, Mutunda, located in the country (and discussed below). It is now becoming a leading player in copper too, surpassing China and the United States as the world’s third-largest producer.
The Kamoa-Kaula Copper Mine is expected to become the largest copper mine on the continent, and the largest in the world, following the completion of its Phase 3 concentrator expansion, which began commercial production in Q3 of 2024. In 2023 alone, the mine produced 393,551 tonnes of copper. Interestingly, the mine is powered by hydroelectricity, making it among the least polluting copper mines worldwide.
Tshipi Borwa Manganese Mine, Kathu, South Africa
South Africa’s long history in gold, iron ore, platinum, and coal mining helped make the country one of the leading mining nations on Earth, with a wealth of expertise and natural resources ripe for exploration. Manganese is another mineral South Africa has been blessed with.
Around 70% of the world’s manganese reserves are found in the Kalahari Desert, and the increasing use of electric vehicles has led to demand for manganese surging. Demand from the battery sector is expected to triple to over 7% of consumption by 2040, with the steel industry accounting for over 80% of manganese demand.
The Tshipi Borwa Manganese Mine is the largest in South Africa by export volume, the largest in Africa, and the third largest in the world. In 2022, the shallow open-cast mine produced 3,3 million tonnes of ore. The application for the mining rights was approved in 2010, with construction taking around 20 months before the mine exported its first manganese ore.
Mutanda Cobolt Mine, Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Cobalt is an important ingredient in battery manufacturing and solar panels. As a key component in cathodes of lithium-ion batteries, cobalt provides batteries with thermal stability, longevity, and promotes high-energy density, It also provides similar stability to the batteries used to store the energy produced by solar panel technology. As the need for renewable energy accelerates, cobalt demand is projected to rise between 60 and 70% in the next 20 years.
Mutanda Cobolt Mine in the DRC is the largest cobalt mine in the world, and the DRC is the world’s largest supplier of rare earth metals at 72%. The mine employs around 2,500 people and will produce 5.78 thousand tonnes of cobalt by the end of 2023. The mine began production in 2010 and is expected to keep operating till 2043. It is also located in a neighbourhood that includes the Deziwa and Kalumbwe cobalt mines.
Of interest will be whether cobalt will continue to hold an important place within the electric vehicle (EV) battery space. The proportion of EV batteries containing cobalt manufactured in China in 2024 dropped to 31% from 44% in 2022, with cobalt-free lithium iron phosphate batteries cheap to manufacture.
Bikita Lithium Mine, Bikita, Zimbabwe
Similar to cobalt, lithium plays an important role in renewable energy technology, such as enhancing energy storage density, supporting long battery life cycles versus other battery types, and low self-discharge rate, which allows lithium batteries to maintain their charge for longer. Its wide use in battery technology spanning electric vehicles, wind power, and solar power makes it among the key minerals supporting the transition to renewable energy.
Between 2023 and 2030, global lithium demand will likely have increased by 350% and by 2029 is projected to outstrip supply. In the same year, more lithium will need to be mined than what was extracted globally between 2015 and 2022.
Bikita Lithium Mine in Zimbabwe is the world’s largest known deposit of lithium, holding 11 million tonnes of the rare earth metal. The mine is a stalking horse for growing lithium exploration in the country, with seven different explorations at various stages of development in 2023 alone. Producing 412,000 tonnes per annum, Bikita began producing lithium in the 1950s but has been in operation since 1911, first as an open pit tin mine before transitioning to lithium and petalite, which is supplied to the glass and ceramics industries.
These mines and others like them show Africa's growing role as the world economy transitions to renewable energy. The growth opportunities these mines represent and the interest shown by global investors to support further rare earth metal exploration is a possible inflexion point.
If African governments can create an enabling policy and regulatory environment that encourages wide-scale beneficiation, the clean energy era can mark a new beginning for millions of the continent's people.
Webber Wentzel’s team of leading mining experts is attending the 2025 Mining Indaba in Cape Town. You can find more information on Indaba, here.