As Opec shapes oil, so must Africa define the mineral economy

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Excavators and drillers work at one of the world's largest copper and cobalt deposits, Tenke Fungurume, in Congo on January 29, 2013. 

Photo credit: Reuters

Africa stands at the centre of the global mineral economy.

As nations race to secure their future, the minerals driving clean energy, advanced industry, and modern defence have become instruments of power. No longer mere inputs, they now determine who leads and who lags behind. Cobalt, lithium, rare earths, graphite, and manganese have moved from being niche industrial inputs to becoming central pillars of global power.