Driven by the accelerating global energy transition, resource-rich countries are actively asserting greater control over their critical minerals—lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, and rare earths—through a policy shift known as resource nationalism.
While the framing of resource nationalism came from global north countries that dislike policies by governments in the global south to move up the value chain, this movement is reshaping global supply chains and creating new geopolitical dynamics, particularly in relation to China, which dominates much of the critical minerals value chain.
Tanzania’s Ministry of Minerals announced sweeping reforms covering 40 critical minerals this month. Central to the new policy is a strict beneficiation requirement: no medium or large-scale mining project will receive a license without a local value addition plan. “All raw materials must be processed on Tanzanian soil,” said Minerals Minister Anthony Mavunde, underscoring a broader trend among resource-rich countries aiming to capture more value domestically.
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