Critical minerals: six development banks join forces to finance processing in Africa

It is an unprecedented alliance. Six multilateral development banks—the World Bank, the African Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the EBRD, the European Investment Bank, and the Inter-American Development Bank—have published a joint framework dedicated to critical minerals. Their objective: to help resource-rich countries move beyond extraction toward processing, refining, and manufacturing.

A toolbox rather than a fund

The initiative focuses on mining corridors, jointly financing power, transport, logistics, water, and digital infrastructure around project sites. The banks also intend to align their environmental and social standards and coordinate their support to governments.

However, the document does not commit to any aggregate funding figure. Instead, it offers a suite of instruments: political and foreign exchange risk guarantees and insurance, joint project preparation, co-financing, concessional financing, and support for offtake agreements. The often-cited $19 billion figure reflects the World Bank's global target alone for 2026–2030, rather than an approved African envelope.

Four African countries at the forefront

The day before, the World Bank launched country compacts with eight nations, including Zambia, Malawi, Mauritania, and Egypt. Zambia is targeting 3 million tonnes of copper per year by 2031 and aims to develop downstream processing industries. Malawi is focusing on mining governance, energy, transport, and licensing transparency. Mauritania intends to combine mining with renewable energy for low-carbon processing, while Egypt aims for mining to contribute 6% of GDP by 2030.

These ambitions face severe financial constraints. In Zambia, debt stands at 83.9% of GDP, and the IMF still considers the country at high risk of debt distress.

Washington advances its pawns

Meanwhile, the United States is picking up the pace. The US agency DFC claims more than $14 billion in commitments in Africa, including over $3 billion in critical minerals, and plans to increase direct equity investments.

In the DRC, the strategic agreement signed with Washington goes further: Congolese state-owned enterprises must use their marketing rights to direct exports toward American buyers, backed by rights of first refusal. Accordingly, Gécamines will ship 100,000 tonnes of copper to the United States in 2026.

African states take a firmer stance

In response to this growing competition, producing countries are multiplying restrictions. At least 13 African nations have restricted raw mineral exports since 2023. Zimbabwe suspended all unprocessed mineral exports in February, and Huayou's plant there exported Africa's first locally produced lithium sulfate in April.

Refining, the heart of the battle

The stakes are considerable: China dominates the refining of 19 out of 20 strategic minerals, holding an average market share of roughly 70%. But financing alone will not suffice. Refining requires abundant and reliable electricity; the DRC, for instance, struggles to move beyond cobalt hydroxide due to the lack of a stable grid.

The six banks implicitly acknowledge this challenge: a working group will report annually on progress. For Africa, the test will be simple. It will require seeing factories, skilled jobs, and transparent contracts materialize, rather than just announcements.