Background:

The world’s attention has increasingly focused on developing new processing facilities and expanded upstream supplies of a broad range of critical minerals that are essential to meet rapidly expanding demand in high-tech and energy-related industries.  Global demand for critical minerals is projected to increase fourfold by 2040, with lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements seeing the highest growth rates. As the world expands development of battery and storage technologies and develops ever more complex communications technologies, access to reliable supplies of key minerals as well as processing facilities will be an important component of economic growth and job creation for the next several decades.  Africa is a leading source for many of these minerals accounting for approximately 30% of global critical mineral reserves, including 70% of cobalt reserves, 40% of manganese, and significant deposits of lithium graphite and platinum group metals.  African countries are keen to use the opportunity of new technologies to leverage their mineral deposits into significant participation in existing as well as emerging global value chains.  At the same time, western countries, led by the United States, have grown more concerned about excessive dependence on a small number of countries and facilities, particularly China, for processing ores into industrial components.  China currently controls over 80% of rare earth element processing and 60% of lithium processing globally. 

In a March 20th executive order, the Trump Administration announced its plans to increase the security of America’s critical mineral supply chains, including the establishment of a National Coordinator of Minerals Dominance and allocation of significant funding for domestic processing capacity.  

There is an important opportunity for U.S. and African countries to collaborate to bring the foreign investment and capacity building mechanisms African countries need to develop new mines and expand supplies of these minerals, while also providing more secure alternatives to dependence on China for processing. The following countries have been cooperating with U.S. companies on critical minerals project and connected infrastructure projects: Angola, Madagascar, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Tanzania, Nigeria.  

Roundtable Objectives:

This high-level event convenes African Finance Ministers, senior U.S. Government officials, and strategic investors from both continents to explore innovative financing solutions for critical minerals mining and processing across Africa and the United States, alongside essential supporting infrastructure projects. This session will develop actionable recommendations for future collaboration, which will directly inform discussions at the 2025 U.S.-Africa Business Summit in Angola and shape the agenda for subsequent CCA initiatives.