SADC Eyes Local Mineral Processing to Drive Industrial Growth

The SADC region holds major deposits of minerals increasingly required for renewable energy, electric vehicles, battery storage and other low-carbon technologies.

Southern Africa is looking to turn its vast reserves of minerals needed for the global clean energy transition into a stronger engine for industrialisation, with regional leaders and development partners calling for more processing and value addition within mineral-producing countries rather than relying mainly on the export of raw resources.

The issue featured prominently at the 9th Southern African Development Community (SADC) Industrialisation Week and Exhibition in Durban, South Africa, where discussions explored how critical energy transition minerals can support economic diversification, industrial development and employment while ensuring that mining communities share in the benefits.

The SADC region holds major deposits of minerals increasingly required for renewable energy, electric vehicles, battery storage and other low-carbon technologies. Zambia is a major copper producer, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has extensive cobalt resources, South Africa has manganese and platinum group metals, while Zimbabwe holds significant lithium resources, placing Southern Africa at the heart of supply chains that will influence the global transition towards cleaner energy.

Six SADC Countries Join Responsible Mining Project

A five-year regional project focused on responsible and inclusive energy transition mineral value chains is working across the DRC, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Financially supported by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) and led by the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), the project seeks to connect responsible mining practices with sustainable industrialisation.

These six countries collectively hold resources including cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese, platinum group metals and rare earth elements, giving them an opportunity to capture more economic value if extraction is accompanied by domestic processing, stronger industrial capacity and responsible governance.

ECA Economic Affairs Officer Oliver Maponga said responsible exploitation and local value addition can contribute directly to regional value-chain development, industrial transformation and economic diversification, while environmental governance needs to remain an important part of industrial policy.

The project is expected to support the development of mining policies aligned with environmental, social and governance principles, improve environmental and climate monitoring and strengthen the ability of communities in mining areas to participate in decisions that affect them. Local benefit sharing is another major part of the programme, reflecting concerns that mineral wealth should translate into tangible improvements for people living around mining operations.

Artisanal Miners Seen as Important Part of Mineral Supply Chains

Artisanal and small-scale miners emerged as another major focus during a panel convened by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and ECA under the theme "Towards Competitive and Resilient Industrialisation in SADC."

Discussions examined how regional industrial policies can better reflect the needs of enterprises, traders and mining communities, while recognising artisanal and small-scale mining as an established part of critical mineral supply chains rather than leaving smaller operators outside emerging opportunities.

Maponga said artisanal and small-scale miners occupy important positions in the supply of critical energy transition minerals despite facing limitations in technology, financing and skills. Building their capabilities could allow smaller mining operations to participate more responsibly and productively in value chains while improving the distribution of economic benefits generated by mineral processing.

Empowering artisanal and small-scale miners in responsible mineral value chains is also among the recommendations of the United Nations Secretary-General's Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals.

SADC Pushes for Mineral Beneficiation at Source

SADC Executive Secretary Elias Magosi said the region already has the mineral resources, markets and partnerships required for industrialisation, placing greater attention on what countries do with those advantages before minerals leave their borders.

He identified investment in infrastructure and skills, transformation of agricultural value chains and beneficiation of critical energy transition minerals at source as priorities for regional industrial development. Processing minerals closer to where they are extracted could help countries develop manufacturing capabilities, create skilled employment and retain a greater share of the value generated by global clean-energy supply chains.

The regional project brings together partners including the African Union Commission's African Minerals Development Centre, Wits Enterprise at the University of the Witwatersrand, WWF Germany, the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources and Projekt Consult GmbH.

As global demand for transition minerals grows, SADC's challenge is moving beyond being primarily a supplier of raw materials and building industries around its mineral resources. Responsible extraction, local processing, stronger community participation and investment in skills could determine how much of the clean-energy transition's economic value ultimately remains within Southern Africa.