Next Africa Will Africa Cash in on the Critical Minerals Boom?
Feb 12, 2026
William Clowes, Bloomberg reporter on African mining and geopolitics, and Matthew Hill, Bloomberg commodities reporter with on-the-ground Mining Indaba coverage. They discuss the upbeat Mining Indaba atmosphere and rising global demand for critical minerals. They cover Africa’s vast undeveloped mineral wealth, new infrastructure corridors like Lobito, and how Congo and Zambia are leveraging deals and geopolitics for better terms.
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Metals Demand Fuels Africa's Moment
- Global demand for electrification is driving unprecedented appetite for copper, lithium, cobalt and other critical minerals.
- Africa's mineral potential positions the continent as essential to meeting that demand and attracting massive investor interest.
Indaba Has Shifted From Jolly To Busy
- Matthew Hill and William Clowes described Mining Indaba swelling with delegates and a much busier schedule than in prior years.
- Attendees now pack schedules for deals rather than for socializing, reflecting a shift from jollity to intense business focus.
Processing Bottleneck: China Dominates
- China currently dominates processing and refining for many critical mineral value chains.
- The US and EU are pushing to build Western supply chains to reduce reliance on Chinese processing capacity.