Of recent, the global demand for green minerals such as lithium, copper, and cobalt has surged, and African countries are now developing policies to control the exploitation and export of these critical minerals.
Ghana is the most recent country to announce the approval of a green-minerals policy to help manage the exploitation, production of lithium and help local businesses tap a multibillion-dollar industry.
Ghana’s Lands and Natural Resources Minister, Samuel Jinapor, said the policy has been passed by the country’s cabinet but still awaits parliament’s approval by the end of the year.
“The overarching goal of the policy is to ensure that exploitation of these critical minerals inures (works) to the benefit of (the) people of Ghana, the true owners of these resources,” Jinapor said in an official statement published by Ghana’s Land Ministry.
When the policy is approved, Jinapor explained, “It will form the basis for all agreements, leases, licenses, and permits for the exploitation and utilization of our green minerals.”
So far, two other resource-rich countries- Namibia and Zimbabwe have banned the export of unprocessed lithium and other critical minerals
Namibia’s information ministry said in early June that the country had banned the export of unprocessed crushed lithium ore, cobalt, manganese, graphite, and rare earth minerals. Although, it will allow small quantities of the minerals to be exported after approval by the country’s mining ministry.
In December 2022, Zimbabwe also mentioned that it would only allow shipping out of concentrates, with plans to impose a tax on lithium concentrates destined to export markets. The country is using the Base Mineral Export Control Act, passed in December 2022, to encourage local metal processing.
The two countries house five minerals – lithium, cobalt, manganese, nickel, and graphite – that are all in great demand from renewable energy industries.
Data compiled by Energy, Capital & Power, organizers of Africa’s inaugural Critical Minerals Summit, slated for mid-October in Cape Town, shows that Zimbabwe can meet 20% of the world’s lithium demand.
6Data from the energy firm also shows that the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) produces 43% of the global mined lithium supply, highlighting the potential for Africa to increase control of these resources.
The International Energy Agency’s Critical Minerals Policy Tracker shows there are nearly 200 policies and regulations across the globe relating to critical minerals, with over 100 of these enacted in the past few years.
“Many of these interventions have implications for trade and investment, and some have included restrictions on import or export. Globally, export restrictions on critical raw materials have seen a fivefold increase since 2009,” said the IEA.
The tracker lists South Africa and DRC among African countries with active policies on critical minerals since 2018.