Africa’s Mining Sector Increasingly Targeted by Disinformation Campaigns — Report

Africa’s critical minerals sector is facing a surge in coordinated disinformation campaigns, with nearly 300 million users reached across multiple countries over the past year, according to a new report by Refute.

The London-based firm identified 2,778 bot accounts generating more than 22 million engagements across 21 mining sites in Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger, Mali, Rwanda, Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire, highlighting the growing scale and sophistication of digital influence operations in the sector.

Published in the Africa Decoded report, the findings show how relatively small but coordinated networks can exert disproportionate influence by amplifying narratives linked to geopolitical tensions and market-moving developments.

According to Tom Garnett, the campaigns closely mirror real-world events. “The bot activity we track in the mining sector maps to commodity price spikes, regulatory decisions, and corporate disputes with disturbing precision,” he said.

The report identified notable spikes in activity, including a 114% surge in Mali following the revocation of more than 90 foreign exploration permits in October 2025, and a 417% increase in early 2026 when Barrick Gold resumed operations at the Loulo-Gounkoto gold complex.

Gold-related narratives attracted the highest engagement, with hundreds of bot accounts mobilised during periods of rising prices, underscoring the sensitivity of the sector to global market dynamics.

The report also highlights the speed at which disinformation spreads across borders. Following a tailings dam collapse at a Chinese-owned copper mine in Zambia in February 2025, a coordinated bot network traced to Kenya repurposed the incident to fuel opposition to Chinese mining investment in another country within days.

With Africa holding roughly 30% of the world’s critical mineral reserves essential for the energy transition—including cobalt, lithium, and rare earths—the sector has become a focal point of geopolitical competition involving major powers such as the United States, China, and Russia.

Refute warns that these evolving disinformation tactics present growing operational and reputational risks for mining companies, as campaigns become increasingly targeted, adaptive, and difficult to detect without advanced monitoring systems.

As global demand for critical minerals accelerates, safeguarding information integrity is emerging as a key challenge alongside traditional regulatory and market risks in Africa’s mining landscape.