Energy Transition Africa

African child carrying sack of ore in foreground, with wind turbines and solar panels in background under sunrise.

Finance or Folly? How Climate Capital Is Fueling Mining Abuses in Africa

In recent climate weeks, the buzzwords were everywhere: “green capital,” “just transition,” “unlocking climate finance.” On panels, participants nodded in agreement about the trillions needed to accelerate the energy transition.…

Vincent Egoro October 3, 2025Africa energy transition, climate finance mining Africa, critical minerals, just transition, mining governance, resource justice

Critical Minerals

Critical Minerals, Critical Choices: Africa’s Bid to Control the Green Value Chain

Africa holds the minerals the world needs. The real question is: can the continent hold the value, too? A continent at the centre of the green revolution From cobalt in…

Vincent Egoro October 1, 2025Africa critical minerals value chain, Africa green economy, AU critical minerals coalition, extractivist trap Africa, mining governance Africa, Mo Ibrahim unlocking green riches

African woman and children working in artisanal mining with clean energy infrastructure in the background.

Community Impact Critical Minerals

Mining’s Hidden Toll: Women, Children, and the True Cost of Clean Energy

Introduction: A just transition with invisible victims As New York Climate Week convenes global leaders, financiers, and activists to discuss accelerating the clean energy transition, one reality remains uncomfortably absent…

Energy Transition Africa Editorial Desk September 24, 2025child labour in mining, clean energy supply chains, climate justice, critical minerals Africa, just transition Africa, mining impacts Africa, NY Climate Week, women in mining Africa

African miners at open-pit site with ore moving toward ports and global markets, symbolising critical minerals supply chain.

Critical Minerals Governance & Transparency

Critical Minerals Circuits: Who Controls the Chain from Mine to Market?

Critical minerals have become the backbone of the global energy transition. Lithium, cobalt, graphite, nickel, and rare earths are essential inputs for batteries, electric vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels.…

Energy Transition Africa Editorial Desk September 17, 2025Africa energy transition, Africa supply chain, Africa trade policy, critical minerals Africa, just transition Africa, lithium cobalt Africa, mining value addition, resource governance Africa

Cargo ship leaving African port with export containers, unfinished factory in background at golden hour, symbolising Africa’s critical minerals export vs industrialisation challenge.

Critical Minerals

Dig, Ship, Repeat? The Extractivist Trap in Africa’s Critical Minerals Boom

Walk into any electric vehicle showroom in Berlin, Los Angeles or Shanghai, and you are looking at Africa. The cobalt that steadies the battery, the copper that carries the current,…

Vincent Egoro September 1, 2025Africa critical minerals, Africa mining value addition, Africa resource governance, Climate justice Africa, cobalt Africa, EV battery supply chain Africa, just energy transition Africa, lithium Africa

Critical Minerals

Powering the Future: Why SADC Must Embrace Regional Value Addition of Critical Minerals

On 17 August 2025, SADC heads of state will gather in Madagascar for a summit themed “Advancing industrialisation, agricultural transformation and energy transition for a resilient SADC.” The symbolism is…

Energy Transition Africa Editorial Desk August 15, 2025Critical Minerals in Africa, Economic Development in SADC, Renewable Energy in Africa, ValueAddition

African miner overlooks a Southern African open-pit mine at sunset.

Critical Minerals

Southern Africa: The Critical Minerals Anchor of the Global Energy Transition

When the World Economic Forum released its recent analysis on the role of Southern Africa in the global energy transition, one figure stood out: countries like Zambia, Namibia, and Zimbabwe…

Vincent Egoro August 11, 2025Africa industrialisation, community benefits, critical minerals, green hydrogen, just energy transition, mining policy, Namibia lithium, platinum, renewable energy transition, resource governance, SADC cooperation, Southern Africa, sustainable development, value addition, Zambia cobalt, Zimbabwe lithium

Artisanal miner at a cobalt pit in Kolwezi, DRC, with overlay of global energy symbols like EVs and batteries—illustrating Africa’s vital role in powering the clean energy transition.

Critical Minerals

Green Gold Rush or Resource Grab? Inside Africa’s Critical Minerals Boom

Under the midday sun in Kolwezi, in the southeastern stretch of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Lucien, a 26-year-old father of three, kneels in a shallow mine pit, scraping cobalt-rich…

Energy Transition Africa Editorial Desk August 4, 2025Africa EV minerals, Africa mining policy, artisanal miners Africa, clean energy minerals, cobalt mining DRC, critical minerals Africa, Energy transition Africa, green energy supply chain, just transition minerals, lithium Zimbabwe, mineral beneficiation Africa, mining value chains, resource nationalism Africa, sustainable mining

African miner beside a cobalt pit with an industrial plant on the horizon, representing Africa’s move from raw exports to mineral beneficiation.

Critical Minerals

Beyond Raw Minerals: Can Africa Benefit from Its Critical Mineral Wealth?

In Kolwezi, in the heart of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), the earth gives way to cobalt-rich soil. Every morning, hundreds of artisanal miners, many without helmets or boots,…

Energy Transition Africa Editorial Desk July 30, 2025Africa, artisanal mining, cobalt, critical minerals, DRC, Ghana, green transition, lithium, resource nationalism, Sierra Leone, value addition

African officials stand near a mine site enforcing mineral export bans

Critical Minerals

Africa’s Resource Revolution: How Raw Minerals Are Becoming Gold Mines for Local Value

Africa is in the midst of a quiet revolution. One that sees nations taking a firmer hold over the minerals beneath their feet. From Mali’s dramatic seizure of Barrick’s gold…

Energy Transition Africa Editorial Desk July 14, 2025Africa, critical minerals, economic sovereignty, just transition, mineral exports, resource nationalism, value addition