The African Union (AU) has unveiled plans to establish a coalition of mineral-producing countries, aimed at strengthening regional alliances and securing better value from Africa’s vast mineral wealth.
The initiative, announced after the second Africa Climate Summit, is described as a strategy to channel the continent’s natural resources toward climate-resilient development. It comes at a time of intensifying global competition over Africa’s critical minerals, which are vital for clean energy technologies.
China has long invested heavily in Africa’s mining sector, while the United States is now stepping up its involvement. Washington has recently played a role in peace talks between the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, partly to stabilize supply chains tied to key minerals. Both nations have pledged to overhaul their mineral industries to improve governance and transparency.
By creating a unified front, the AU hopes the proposed coalition will boost Africa’s bargaining power in global markets, ensure fairer deals, and encourage greater local value addition in mineral processing. However, observers note that achieving consensus among diverse member states, tackling governance challenges, and addressing environmental risks will be key to its success.
