Creating and Leveraging Opportunities for Mineral-Rich Countries

Increasing demand for transition minerals is perceived by many resource-rich countries as a new opportunity to boost revenue and advance towards industrialization. While these resources present substantial economic opportunities, countries often remain limited to raw material extraction due to infrastructure, investment, and governance challenges and/or market dynamics which do not support the emergence of new or localized clusters of operations.

Efforts to move down the value chain through processing localization mandates and/or export bans, as seen in Zimbabwe's lithium policies, have had mixed results, mostly leading to inefficiencies and reduced production. Examples like Indonesia’s nickel sector must also be considered carefully, balancing socio-economic benefits with environmental impacts. Nationalization efforts, such as Chile's new lithium strategy, also illustrate the difficulty of driving sustainable and positive outcomes from such policies.

International partnerships, North-South collaborations, and regional integration efforts also aim to enhance processing capabilities and increase industrialization. However, these endeavors face significant hurdles, including weak institutions, political instability, and the need for substantial investment and capacity building. Robust regulatory frameworks, capacity building, and regional cooperation to harness the full potential of mineral resources while ensuring sustainable development and equitable benefits for local communities are crucial.

Authored by Solange Harpham, edited by Ludivine Wouters.