Botswana Mining Review Comprehensive Coverage of the Progress and Achievements in the Mining Sector
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The Executive Director of the Southern Africa Resource Watch (SARW), Claude Kabemba,has urged African governments to strengthen their capacity to negotiate mining and resource contracts, warning that the continent continues to lose billions in potential revenue despite being home to significant mineral reserves.
“Africa holds around 30 percent of the world’s critical mineral reserves, yet the continent captures only about 40 percent of the value it should be earning,” said Kabemba. He noted that minerals such as cobalt, lithium and copper, critical for the global energy transition remain largely exported in raw form, limiting their economic impact.
Kabemba stressed that African countries must “build the capacity to negotiate profitable, fair, and transparent contracts” while also developing long-term industrial and processing capabilities. He argued that governments need to “maximise revenue now, even before full industrialisation is achieved,” citing analysis that African nations lose an estimated 1.7 percent of GDP in potential tax and royalty income due to weak negotiation and limited control over pricing.
According to Kabemba, Africa is in a position of strength as demand for green minerals accelerates. He explained, “The world needs Africa’s minerals more than Africa needs buyers, referencing projections by the International Energy Agency that mineral demand for clean energy technologies will triple by 2030 and quadruple by 2040. With demand for lithium expected to rise tenfold by 2050 and cobalt and nickel to double or triple.” Kabemba argued that “now is the time for Africa to set the terms, not simply accept them”.
He cautioned, however, that past mining deals were often signed under disadvantageous conditions. “Contracts were negotiated without complete geological data, with stabilization clauses that protected investors and exposed governments,” noted Kabemba. These agreements, he added, were marred by opacity, limited environmental safeguards, and weak local content provisions, which undermined efforts to build domestic supply chains.
SARW, which Kabemba leads, monitors government and corporate conduct in natural resource extraction across Southern Africa to ensure activities “contribute to sustainable development and uplift regional communities”. With nearly three decades in research and advocacy, Kabemba is regarded as one of the region’s leading voices on natural resource governance and the geopolitics of green minerals.
Moreover, he said that improving contract negotiation is fully aligned with continental frameworks such as the Africa Mining Vision, Agenda 2063, the African Commodity Strategy, and the forthcoming African Green Minerals Strategy. These frameworks collectively call for beneficiation, value addition, and stronger governance of mineral wealth. “Africa cannot talk about industrialisation without talking about responsible and well-negotiated extraction,” added Kabemba.
He shared that increased revenue from renegotiated or newly structured contracts could be reinvested into infrastructure, manufacturing, and other productive sectors. “Better deals mean better development from energy systems to transport, to skills and technology transfer,” stated Kabemba. Yet challenges persist. Infrastructure deficits, financing gaps, inadequate energy grids, and limited processing capacity remain barriers to beneficiation. Kabemba highlighted the importance of regional cooperation through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), saying, “No African country can industrialise alone as regional value chains are essential”.
In concluding, Kabemba emphasised the urgency of acting now, “We cannot continue exporting wealth in its raw form. Africa must move from being a supplier of minerals to a creator of value.” By negotiating fairer contracts and building long-term industrial capacity, he argued, the continent could turn its mineral endowments into inclusive economic growth and sustainable development.
