Legal Experts Put Africa’s Mining Investment Frameworks in Focus

Clifford Chance brings another part of the investment picture through its work with mining companies, financiers and strategic investors on project finance, acquisitions, infrastructure and resource development.

Africa's mining industry is moving into a fresh investment cycle as global demand for critical minerals rises and governments look for ways to process more resources within the continent rather than exporting raw materials. New mines, processing facilities and mineral corridors need far more than geological potential to attract capital, with investors increasingly examining mining codes, regulatory stability, access to infrastructure, financing arrangements and protections that can support projects through years of development.

These issues will feature prominently at African Mining Week (AMW) 2026, taking place in Cape Town from October 14–16. Mining executives, investors, government representatives and advisors will explore what is needed to turn Africa's mineral wealth into commercially viable projects while building stronger domestic value chains.

Legal frameworks move closer to the investment conversation

The 'Accelerating Mineral Production: The Energy, Water & Waste Nexus' panel will feature Iyunola Adekanye, Partner at Dentons, and Ope Osinubi, Senior Associate at Clifford Chance, who are expected to examine the legal and policy questions influencing investment across Africa's mining sector.

Their discussion comes at a time when the success of a mine can depend just as heavily on electricity supply, water availability, waste management systems and transport links as it does on the quality of the mineral deposit. These requirements often involve several government agencies, financing partners and infrastructure developers, creating complex contractual and regulatory arrangements that must remain workable throughout a project's life.

Clearer rules and carefully designed partnerships can give investors greater confidence while helping governments secure more local economic value from mineral development.

Dentons expands closer to the DRC's copper and cobalt industry

Dentons strengthened its presence in Africa's critical minerals sector in June 2026 by opening an office in Kolwezi, a major mining centre in the Democratic Republic of Congo and an important location for the global copper and cobalt industry.

The office places the firm closer to companies and investors working through regulatory approvals, mining transactions and project development in the DRC. The expansion also comes as the country seeks greater investment in exploration, mining and downstream processing while pursuing a larger domestic share of the economic benefits generated by its mineral resources.

Dentons' broader African mining practice covers 17 countries, supporting clients across transactions, regulation, investment and project development as mineral supply chains increasingly cross national borders.

Financing structures become central to getting projects built

Clifford Chance brings another part of the investment picture through its work with mining companies, financiers and strategic investors on project finance, acquisitions, infrastructure and resource development.

The firm has advised financial institutions including Deutsche Bank, the African Development Bank, Banque Ouest Africaine de Développement, Standard Bank and Stanbic IBTC Bank on financing transactions linked to infrastructure and resource-sector development. Its experience also includes a $250 million financing for Aradel Energy in Nigeria, reflecting the close relationship between energy availability, infrastructure investment and access to capital across major resource projects.

Mining developments that require their own power, water or transport infrastructure can carry significant upfront costs, making financing structures and risk allocation important factors in determining whether a project reaches construction.

Turning mineral strategies into bankable projects

At AMW 2026, Adekanye and Osinubi are expected to explore how regulatory certainty, investor protections and well-designed public and private partnerships can reduce risk and help mobilize the capital needed to bring mineral projects into production.

Africa's push to capture more value from its resources will depend on more than increasing extraction. Governments, mining companies, financiers and infrastructure providers need legal structures capable of connecting mineral production with processing, energy, water, waste management and transport systems.

The conversation in Cape Town will place that legal architecture at the centre of Africa's next mining investment cycle, showing how practical regulations and stronger partnerships can turn ambitious mineral strategies into projects that investors can finance and countries can use to build deeper industrial value chains.