African Nations Assert Control Over Critical Minerals Supply

#China’s supply chain meets the wall of #African resource nationalism

Posted on March 16, 2026 by Nanthakumar Victor Emmanuel, P.Eng Leave a comment

A conceptual image of Africa shaped by industrial elements, featuring the flags of China and a country in Africa, with containers labeled 'Made in China' and 'Export'. In the foreground, piles of lithium and cobalt minerals are labeled, set against a background of mining machinery and a cloudy sky.

Resource-rich African nations are increasingly asserting control over critical minerals to maximise domestic returns, sending global prices soaring and exerting pressure on Chinese supply chains.

One price crunch started last month when Zimbabwe, Africa’s biggest lithium producer, abruptly suspended exports of raw lithium minerals and concentrates.

Chinese battery producers, which rely on Zimbabwe for about 15 per cent of their total lithium concentrate supply, were hit particularly hard.

The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) has also sought to extract higher returns from its mineral sales, imposing cobalt export controls last year following a sharp decline in global prices. The embargo was eventually replaced in October by a quota system to rebalance the market, with Kinshasa setting limits of 96,600 tonnes this year.

Although China dominates the processing of cobalt, an essential metal used in batteries for electric vehicles and other electronics, it depends heavily on the DR Congo for raw materials.

Namibia prohibited unprocessed mineral exports in 2023, while Tanzania and Malawi issued mandates for in-country refining and raw export bans last year. Ghana has set a 2030 deadline to halt raw bauxite and lithium shipments for its domestic battery industry.