African countries are rich in critical minerals required for clean energy and tech. The map above shows the countries that produce or have reserves of 18 critical minerals, according to the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Mineral Commodity Survey World Data 2025.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) produces three-quarters of the world’s cobalt. It also has copper, niobium and tantalum.
Eighty percent of the world’s tantalum, which is used in capacitors in cellphones and computers, is produced in three African countries: the DRC, Nigeria and Rwanda. Ethiopia, Burundi and Mozambique have reserves of the mineral.
South Africa produces 70% of the platinum group metals (PGMs) and a third of manganese globally. It also produces vanadium and has reserves of rare earths.
Zimbabwe produces 7% of the world’s lithium, used in rechargeable batteries.
Get the data used in this chart on DataDesk