Mining Remains a Pillar of Africa’s Export Performance

Mining continues to anchor Africa’s export stability and revenue generation, with the sector delivering multi-billion-dollar returns across several economies since 2024 and maintaining strong momentum into 2025. Rising global demand for critical minerals—expected to accelerate sharply over the next two decades—has reinforced the sector’s strategic importance to the continent’s trade outlook.

According to the International Trade Centre, leading mineral producers including South Africa, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo each generated at least US$15 billion in mineral exports in 2024. South Africa remains the world’s largest producer of chrome and platinum group metals, while Zambia ranks as Africa’s second-largest copper producer and the DRC leads globally in cobalt production and copper exports.

Other mineral-rich economies also posted strong results. Zimbabwe, Egypt, Ghana, and Guinea recorded between US$5 billion and US$15 billion in mineral export revenues during the same period, underscoring the breadth of mining’s contribution across regions.

Export momentum strengthened further in 2025, supported by firm commodity prices and expanding demand for minerals essential to energy transition technologies. Ghana, for instance, generated approximately US$8 billion in gold exports between January and October 2025, driven largely by artisanal and small-scale mining. Zimbabwe exported US$1.93 billion in minerals in the first nine months of 2025, up from US$1.1 billion during the same period a year earlier. In Zambia, copper continued to dominate trade flows, accounting for around 70% of total export earnings.

A broader group of producers—including Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, Kenya, Gabon, Mauritania, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, and Tunisia—each generated between US$1 billion and US$5 billion in mineral exports in 2024. Several lower-income producers, including Chad, Sudan, Niger, Mali, Ethiopia, Somalia, and the Central African Republic recorded exports of up to US$1 billion.

Looking ahead, mining’s role in Africa’s export landscape is set to deepen. Zambia is targeting copper production of three million tonnes per year, the DRC is working to unlock an estimated 90% of its mineral endowment that remains untapped, and Zimbabwe is accelerating development of its lithium and platinum industries. New rare-earths projects in Angola and Malawi, expanding graphite production in Tanzania, and rising lithium and gold output in Mali further point to sustained growth potential.

As global demand for critical minerals intensifies, Africa’s mining sector is poised to remain a cornerstone of export earnings—provided investment, infrastructure, and governance frameworks continue to evolve to support long-term value creation.