Investing in African Mining Indaba 2025 kicked off with the Ministerial Symposium on Sunday, 5 February in Cape Town, South Africa. In a keynote address on the day Denys Denya, senior executive vice president of the Afreximbank Group, said that Africa must take bold steps to ‘own’ its resources, create jobs and build industries that sustain prosperity for generations to come. He argued that the continent was standing at a crossroads and could either continue exporting its wealth and remain a marginal player in the global economy – or, Africa could “act now and work together as governments, financial institutions, investors and industry players to build an Africa where mining is not just about extraction but about transformation, innovation and wealth creation.”
Denys Denya, senior executive vice president of the Afreximbank Group. Supplied by Afreximbank
Beneficiation is key
Denya emphasised, “While the global mining industry generated approximately USD1.7-trillion in revenue in 2023, Africa’s share of this wealth remained disproportionately low. Our continent extracts the raw materials that power the world’s industries, yet it is estimated that we retain as little as between 4% and 20% of the total value of our minerals due to minimal local processing and limited downstream development. The result? Lost economic opportunities, exposure to volatile commodity cycles and a persistent reliance on external markets for refined products derived from our own resource.”
Reversing this trend demanded bold, coordinated action, he argued, “We must move beyond extraction and invest in refining, smelting and advanced manufacturing. African nations must increase local processing capacity for minerals such as bauxite, lithium, cobalt and iron ore.”
He added, “Africa has the resources, the market potential, and the policy frameworks to transition from a resource-dependent continent to an industrial powerhouse. However, success will depend on bold, decisive action from all stakeholders. Policymakers must implement clear, enforceable regulations that mandate local value addition and create investment-friendly environments. Private sector investors must step up with capital and technology to develop processing, refining, and manufacturing facilities.”
Regional collaboration essential
Moreover, he noted that regional collaboration was essential as no single country could build a mining value chain in isolation. The importance of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in developing intra-African mineral value chains and strengthening cross-border collaboration was highlighted and attracting capital for mining-related infrastructure, technology transfer and skills development were critical.
ESG is a priority
“Our mining policies must also prioritise Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) standards, ensuring that mining benefits communities rather than displacing them,” he said, adding that the approach would create millions of skilled jobs for the youth and reduce reliance on volatile global markets while strengthening intra-African trade.
Funding mining projects in Africa
Reiterating Afreximbank’s commitment to supporting Africa’s mining sector and ensuring that mineral wealth drove economic growth rather than perpetuate resource dependency, Denya announced that, over the past three years, the Bank had approved more than USD1- billion in support of mining and mineral sector projects across the continent, including financing the development and construction of a bauxite processing plant in Guinea, supporting the expansion of a manganese processing plant in Gabon and providing working capital financing to a diamond company in Botswana.
Other major projects being supported by the Bank include a petrochemical fertilizer plant in Angola, a titanium dioxide pigment plant in South Africa and the feasibility study for the development of a limestone mine processing plant in Malawi.
Denya said that the establishment of the USD10-billion AfCFTA Adjustment Fund, managed by FEDA, Afreximbank’s impact investment subsidiary, would provide critical financial support to countries and businesses transitioning to the new trade regime, including those in the mining sector, and that the bank’s efforts to harmonise standards and implement the Africa Collaborative Transit Guarantee Scheme would also facilitate seamless movement of minerals and mining equipment across borders, reducing logistical bottlenecks.
Afreximbank was also leveraging digital platforms, such as the Africa Trade Gateway and the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System, to enable efficient transactions and market access, which would ensure that Africa’s vast mineral wealth was utilised to drive industrialisation, value addition and economic resilience across the continent, he added.
Development of Special Economic Zones
It was noted that Afreximbank, in collaboration with development partners, was driving the development and expansion of industrial parks and special economic zones (SEZs) to address infrastructure challenges that hinder industrial growth.
One of the most transformative initiatives under that pillar was the DRC/Zambia Electric Vehicle Battery Manufacturing Special Economic Zones – a project that positions Africa at the centre of the global energy transition by the implementation of battery precursor SEZs aimed at making the two countries globally competitive investment destinations for the battery electric vehicle value chain.
The African Mining Indaba 2025, took place from 3 to 6 February 2025 and is a gathering where Africa policymakers, industry leaders and global partners work to shape the future of the African mining sector.
Source: supplied by Afreximbank