en.Wedoany.com Reported - To assist Shanghai-based enterprises in China in achieving high-quality "going global" and precisely addressing core challenges such as information asymmetry, difficulty in risk prediction, and unclear market access during the process of enterprise overseas expansion, the Shanghai Municipal Office of Philosophy and Social Science Planning has organized professional teams from universities and research institutions across the city to continuously release enterprise overseas expansion research reports on the Shanghai Enterprise Going Global Comprehensive Service Platform. Based on scholars' "on-the-ground research" fieldwork, practical experience in enterprise overseas expansion, and other information, these reports focus on three scenarios—country-specific, industry-specific, and local compliance operations—to provide decision-making references for enterprises setting sail.
Report Abstract
The global energy transition, industrial chain restructuring, and strategic competition among major powers have collectively elevated the strategic importance of critical minerals. Minerals such as lithium, cobalt, copper, graphite, manganese, platinum group metals, and rare earths have transformed from traditional industrial raw materials into foundational resources for electric vehicles, energy storage, power grids, wind power, photovoltaics, digital infrastructure, and the defense industry. Data from the International Energy Agency shows that in 2024, lithium demand grew by nearly 30%, while demand for nickel, cobalt, graphite, and rare earths increased by approximately 6% to 8%; by 2040, lithium demand is expected to reach about five times current levels, graphite and nickel demand roughly double, cobalt and rare earth demand grow by about 50% to 60%, and copper demand increase by about 30%.
Africa holds an irreplaceable resource position in the global critical mineral supply system. The OECD's 2026 Regional Report on Critical Minerals in Africa notes that the Democratic Republic of the Congo accounts for over 70% of global cobalt production, South Africa and Gabon are major global producers of manganese, Guinea controls about a quarter of global bauxite output, and South Africa holds a central position in the supply of platinum group metals and chromium. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) "Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026" also indicates that Africa has significant production or resource bases for multiple minerals, including cobalt, lithium, natural graphite, manganese, and platinum group metals.
This report focuses on enterprise investment in critical minerals in Africa, with particular attention to countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Ghana, South Africa, Tanzania, Mozambique, Madagascar, Gabon, and Mali, covering minerals including copper, cobalt, lithium, natural graphite, manganese, platinum group metals, chromium, and rare earths. The report primarily addresses the challenges enterprises face in investment decisions, namely how to assess the investment value of different countries and minerals, how to identify operational impacts from tightening resource country policies, how to evaluate risks related to mining rights, logistics, electricity, processing, communities, and compliance, and how to choose more stable entry models amid intensifying geopolitical competition.
