The Wealth of Africa

 Why is the continent of Africa poverty-stricken and burdened by debt? 

Beneath the surface of Africa lies a wealth of mineral resources of enormous value. 

In 2019, the continent produced almost 1 billion tonnes of minerals worth $406bn.

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.

Africa holds 40 percent of the world’s gold and up to 90 percent of its chromium and platinum.

Ghana is the continent’s largest producer of gold, followed by South Africa and Mali.

Cobalt is a key metal used to produce batteries. In 2019, 63 percent of the world’s cobalt production came from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Tantalum is another vital metal used in electronic equipment. Tantalum capacitors are found in mobile phones, laptops and in a variety of automotive electronics. The DRC and Rwanda are the world’s largest producers of tantalum. Together they produce half of the world’s tantalum.

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.

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.

At $125bn per year, South Africa generates the most money from its mineral resources. 

Nigeria comes in second with $53bn per year, followed by Algeria ($39bn) Angola ($32bn) and Libya ($27bn).

These five countries produced more than two-thirds of the continent’s mineral wealth.