From minerals to industry

The Witwatersrand Basin has produced nearly half of all the gold ever mined. In the 1970s, South Africa accounted for almost two-thirds of global gold production. This wealth supported the Bank of England, maintained sterling as the world’s reserve currency and funded imperial trade. However, little of the resulting industrial capability was developed in Africa.

This paradox defines Africa’s resource narrative: its resources drive global prosperity without delivering proportional benefits at home. The key question is whether the critical minerals boom will change this pattern.

A second chance, on better terms

The transition to clean energy, digital technology and AI has increased global demand for minerals such as lithium, cobalt, graphite, manganese, copper, titanium and rare earths, many of which are abundant in Africa. Demand is expected to remain strong over the long term, with governments and companies seeking secure supply chains and processed materials rather than raw ore.

This shift gives Africa influence it has rarely held. However, much of the value is lost before significant industrial development takes place. Estimates compiled from USGS, World Bank and industry data indicate that less than 10% of Africa’s lithium, graphite, copper and gold is processed locally for batteries or other uses. Africa processes only 3% to 5% of its graphite, for example, despite its importance in battery anodes. Cobalt is an exception, with about 20% processed locally, a level achieved amid intense geopolitical and environmental, social and governance (ESG) pressures.

Africa’s broader industrial landscape remains challenging. The African Development Bank’s 2025 Africa Industrialisation Index reports that the continent accounts for less than 2% of global manufacturing and only 1.4% of manufactured exports. Manufacturing value added per person remains below 2014 levels. Even South Africa, once the continent’s leading industrial nation, has declined since 2010 and now trails Morocco.

The cost of exporting rocks

Commodity dependence is not only a missed opportunity but also a source of instability. Copper, for example, accounts for 10% to 15% of Zambia’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 70% to 80% of its export earnings. When prices fell and the pandemic struck in 2020, Zambia’s economy contracted, making it the first African country to default on its debt during the pandemic.

Without local processing, economic downturns can be more severe, while upturns fail to deliver lasting benefits.

Beneficiation addresses this challenge. Processed products command higher prices, provide access to more stable markets, create skilled jobs and support supplier networks that endure beyond individual commodity price cycles.

Africa already has the blueprint

This is not a new idea. The Africa Mining Vision, adopted by African Union heads of state in 2009, observed that “most of Africa’s minerals are exported as ores, concentrates or metals, without significant value-addition” and called for “down-stream linkages into mineral beneficiation and manufacturing”.

Agenda 2063 envisages regional manufacturing hubs built around the beneficiation of Africa’s minerals, enabling the continent to capture a greater share of the returns from its natural resources. Its African Commodities Strategy is a flagship programme designed to achieve that objective.

The African Union’s Green Minerals Strategy, published in 2025, commits to driving “value addition at source”.

Africa’s challenge is not a lack of strategy but a failure to execute it, with too few bankable projects translating policy into operational facilities.

Nyanza: from policy to plant

South Africa has the world’s second-largest reserves of titanium-bearing minerals, yet none is processed into pigment or metal within Africa, according to the author. Instead, the continent imports its titanium pigment and metal requirements.

Ilmenite, the primary raw material, is mined and exported from the continent for less than US$300 per tonne, while titanium dioxide pigment, used in paints, plastics, paper and inks, sells for more than US$3,000 per tonne — over 10 times the value.

Nyanza Light Metals’ US$850 million plant in the Richards Bay Industrial Development Zone aims to address this gap. The facility is designed to produce 80,000 tonnes of pigment annually, making it Africa’s first large-scale titanium dioxide production facility.

In July 2021, the African Finance Corporation (AFC) became a co-development partner and expressed its intention to participate in the project’s principal investment. The project is expected to create about 3,000 construction jobs and 850 permanent positions, with women targeted to fill 45% of permanent roles. It is also expected to reduce imports and increase export earnings.

The project’s financial viability was strengthened through a phased approach. Support from South Africa’s Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC), alongside investment from the project sponsors, enabled feasibility studies and the establishment of a testing centre to produce customer qualification samples.

In 2021, Afreximbank and AFC joined the project as co-developers. East China Engineering Science and Technology Corporation (ECEC), a leading builder of titanium dioxide plants, was selected as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor.

The sponsors launched the Nyanza pigment brand using product from an existing ECEC plant. This helped secure customers before construction began, while sales agreements incorporated protections intended to reassure lenders.

In October 2025, the African Development Bank approved a US$75 million senior debt participation in the project.

Construction began in June, with early civil works, including piling, under way. Production is expected within 36 months of construction commencing.

The project also demonstrates how targeted industrial policy can help build strategic beneficiation capacity. Early-stage development support from the South African government, through the DTIC, helped reduce risks associated with critical development activities and laid the foundation for subsequent participation by institutions such as AFC, Afreximbank and the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC).

Nyanza’s impact is expected to extend beyond a single plant. Its by-products, skilled workforce and customer relationships will support a second phase: a battery-grade lithium iron phosphate project serving energy storage, electric mobility and AI infrastructure.

A Nyanza for every mineral

This approach could be replicated across other countries and minerals. It relies on four factors that resource-rich nations can provide: early public investment to reduce risks, special economic zones with strong infrastructure and incentives, early involvement by development finance institutions, and regional markets large enough to absorb output.

Intra-African trade accounts for only 14.4% of the continent’s total trade, compared with 60% in Asia, according to the African Development Bank. Full implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area would give processors access to the scale that national markets alone cannot provide.

Africa needs projects like Nyanza across multiple regions and mineral sectors. The Witwatersrand enriched other parts of the world; this time, the benefits should remain where the minerals are sourced.

Sulaiman Cisse is vice-president of Project Development and Technical Solutions at the African Finance Corporation (AFC). AFC is a co-developer of, and lead arranger for, the Nyanza titanium dioxide project.