Energy Transition Africa

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

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

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 coal town residents contrast with foreign consultants managing climate funds

Community Impact Energy Transition

Who Truly Benefits from Just Transitions in Africa? The Rising Tide of Elite Extraction

In recent years, Africa has been hailed as a leader in designing just transitions, energy shifts that protect both the planet and people. Among the most ambitious is the Just…

Energy Transition Africa Editorial Desk July 16, 2025Africa, climate finance, coal transition, community inclusion, critical minerals, energy justice, JETP, just transition

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

African women sitting near a railway, observing a mineral freight train passing through their village.

Community Impact Critical Minerals

Beyond the Tracks: What Africa’s Mining Corridors Really Mean for the Communities They Bypass

"The trains pass, but we are still in the dark." That was the quiet but piercing remark of Mariam, a farmer in northern Zambia, whose family was relocated to make…

Energy Transition Africa Editorial Desk July 4, 2025Africa infrastructure, community voices, critical minerals, displacement, energy transition, just transition, land rights, mining corridors

A high-resolution photograph of an African open-pit mine with industrial machinery and processing facilities under a wide sky.

Critical Minerals

Why Africa Must Stop Exporting Wealth: The Case for Processing Our Own Minerals

“If we keep selling the raw and buying the refined, we’ll always be poorer than we are rich.” That line, from a young Ghanaian engineer at a mining expo last…

Energy Transition Africa Editorial Desk July 2, 2025Africa mining, beneficiation, critical minerals, energy transition, green economy, industrialisation, jobs, value addition

A group of African miners raise their fists in solidarity at a critical mineral site, symbolising unity and resistance.

Community Impact Energy Transition

Not Just Green Jobs: African Miners Say the ‘Just Transition’ Is Failing Them

"If our bodies fuel the transition, then we deserve a seat at the table." That was the message from a miner’s union leader in Kolwezi, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),…

Energy Transition Africa Editorial Desk June 30, 2025Africa mining, community impact, critical minerals, energy transition, green minerals, just transition, labour rights, worker safety

An expansive industrial mining site in Africa with heavy machinery extracting minerals under a dusty sky.

Community Impact Critical Minerals Energy Transition

Green Minerals, Grey Realities: Can Africa Avoid Another Resource Curse?

Across the plains of Namibia, the copper belt of the DRC, and the lithium fields of Zimbabwe, a quiet race is underway. It’s not a new one, though the names…

Energy Transition Africa Editorial Desk June 20, 2025Africa Mining Vision, AU, beneficiation, cobalt, critical minerals, DRC, green minerals, just transition, lithium, RECs, resource curse, Zimbabwe

A collage of US dollar bills, euro notes, and African currency spread across a weathered wooden table.

Energy Transition

Follow the Money: Why Africa Must Demand Accountability in Climate Finance

It is one thing to pledge billions. It’s another to deliver them, transparently, equitably, and in ways that change lives. In the aftermath of every COP summit or climate finance…

Energy Transition Africa Editorial Desk June 18, 2025Africa, Civil Society, climate finance, climate justice, critical minerals, donor accountability, energy transition, fossil fuel phaseout, JETP, just transition

An industrial smokestack emits haze beside stacks of mineral ore under cloudy skies in Africa.

Critical Minerals Uncategorized

Clean or Compromised? The Dirty Dilemma of Refining Africa’s Critical Minerals

Africa is home to more than 30% of the world’s critical minerals; cobalt, lithium, manganese, graphite, all essential for the global energy transition. But while the world’s richest economies are…

Energy Transition Africa Editorial Desk June 12, 2025critical minerals, CriticalMineralsAfrica, energy transition, ESG Africa, fossil fuels, Green industrialisation, just transition, refining, ValueAddition