Africa Destiny: Mining and Minerals
In 2019, the continent produced almost 1 billion tonnes of minerals worth $406bn.
According to the United Nations, Africa is home to about 30 percent of the world’s mineral reserves, 12 percent of the world’s oil and 8 percent of the world’s natural gas reserves. The continent also holds 40 percent of the world’s gold and up to 90 percent of its chromium and platinum – both valuable metals.
In 2019, about 63 percent of the world’s cobalt production came from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The DRC and Rwanda are the world’s largest producers of tantalum. Together they produce half of the world’s tantalum.
Top minerals per country
Petroleum and coal are among the most abundant minerals for 22 out of Africa’s 54 countries. As of 2019, Nigeria produced most of the continent’s petroleum (25 percent), followed by Angola (17 percent), and Algeria (16 percent).
Metals including gold, iron, titanium, zinc and copper are the top produced minerals for 11 countries. Ghana is the continent’s largest producer of gold, followed by South Africa and Mali.
Industrial minerals such as diamonds, gypsum, salt, sulphur and phosphates were the main commodity for 13 African countries. The DRC is Africa’s largest industrial diamond producer, followed by Botswana and South Africa. Botswana ranks number one in Africa for the production of gem-quality diamonds – used for jewellery.
