from DION HENRICK in Cape Town
Western Cape Bureau
CAPE TOWN, (CAJ News) – AFRICA is intensifying its push to ensure that foreign investment in mining translates into industrialisation, job creation and long-term economic transformation across the continent.
This shift was strongly articulated by South Africa’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, Parks Tau, during a high-level panel on critical minerals at the Investing in Africa Mining Indaba in Cape Town.
Speaking under the theme Building Critical Minerals Value Chains, Tau underscored a growing continental consensus: Africa must move beyond being a raw material exporter and position itself as a global hub for value addition, processing and advanced manufacturing.
“The focus is now on ensuring that investments from other countries are linked to industrialisation in South Africa,” Tau said.
“The objective is to review and negotiate trade partnerships to prevent minerals from being exported without delivering meaningful benefits to the country.”
This approach resonates across Africa, where resource-rich nations are increasingly demanding fairer returns from their mineral wealth. From lithium and cobalt to platinum group metals, Africa holds a strategic share of the minerals driving the global energy transition, electric mobility and digitalisation.
Tau highlighted the role of special economic zones as engines of industrial growth, noting that South Africa is targeting investors willing to establish processing and manufacturing facilities close to mineral sources.
Such zones, he said, offer platforms for skills transfer, technology localisation and supply-chain development—priorities shared by many African economies.
“The dtic is tasked with implementing measures to ensure genuine beneficiation,” Tau said.
“The emphasis is on moving beyond extraction and export to adding value through local processing, close to the source, for broader societal benefit.”
He cited South Africa’s evolving trade approach with China as a model for Africa’s future engagements.
Rather than traditional commodity trade, the partnership includes a pipeline of industrial investment projects.
An “early harvest” programme, to be unveiled by 26 March, will prioritise industries in which Chinese investors will industrialise within South Africa, reinforcing a shift from export dependency to domestic value creation.
Tau also linked critical minerals to Africa’s industrial future in e-mobility and digitisation, outlining policies aligned with decarbonisation, technological advancement and economic diversification—key pillars for sustainable growth across the continent.
Central to this strategy is policy certainty.
Tau stressed that South Africa’s Critical Minerals Strategy and Implementation Plan, reinforced by the G20 Critical Minerals Framework, positions the country—and Africa more broadly—as a reliable supplier and value-adding partner in global supply chains.
The forum brought together international mining companies, battery mineral processors, electric vehicle manufacturers, development finance institutions, sovereign wealth funds and African mining firms.
Their presence signalled rising global recognition that Africa’s minerals are not just inputs—but foundations for the continent’s industrial future.
– CAJ News