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Negotiations between African governments and foreign investors are often characterized by the various skills, technical capacities, and information asymmetries that shape the balance of power and influence outcomes. The dynamics of these negotiations—in pursuing extractive and infrastructure projects, in particular—merit a special focus, as agreements to carry them out often bind African countries for several decades.
Africa is home to a substantial share of the world’s reserves of mineral resources needed for the clean energy transition and could therefore be the main theater for the global race among China, the United States, European countries, Persian Gulf countries, and others to secure access. The International Energy Agency estimates that manufacturers of clean energy technologies will need forty times more lithium, twenty-five times more graphite, and about twenty times more nickel and cobalt in 2040 than in 2020.
The substantial need for these minerals and metals is increasingly fueling intense geopolitical rivalries in large part because mining negotiations involve more private actors and foreign investors than various other sectors do, such as manufacturing or financial services.
In the global race, China appears to be far ahead in building supply chains for cobalt, rare earth minerals, lithium, and several other essential metals and minerals,2 even though mining companies from Europe and North America have a large presence in precious metals and gemstones in many African countries.
For the rest of this article: https://carnegieendowment.org/posts/2024/08/maximizing-the-benefits-of-renewed-global-interest-in-africas-strategic-minerals?lang=en