Preventing Corruption in Africa’s Transition Mineral Supply Chains

Briefing
4 September 2025

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Key Messages:

The current increasing attention to Africa’s mineral resources could attract much needed investment to the continent or power broader development goals, but many citizens view the prospect of a new mining boom with suspicion. The sector has become synonymous with harmful and costly corruption, often perpetrated by wealthy elites and foreign companies who are able to avoid its worst impacts.
At the same time, anticorruption actors should be alert to new or shifting dynamics, such as the greater emphasis on value addition, or challenges around access to financing. They should also devote more attention to issues that have long been overlooked, such as the intersection between corruption and other types of harm in the mining sector.
Failure to properly address corruption and its causes and consequences will only lead to more harm and instability, both for African countries and across the mineral supply chains needed to power the green transition.
Tackling these issues effectively requires a deep understanding of the specific nature of corruption in each country, yet the drivers of corruption often have global roots. Long-lasting solutions to corruption must therefore be a shared responsibility between African leaders, decision-makers in major market jurisdictions, multilateral actors such as the African Union and the African Development Bank, companies across the supply chain, investors and the donor community.
Addressing this corruption is therefore crucial, to avoid the injustices of the past. Many of the risks are well known, surrounding political access and civic space, licensing and contracting processes for mining projects, the role of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), and processes for collecting revenues from the sector. This means that there are important lessons to learn from the efforts of reformers across the continent and beyond to tackle these harms.

The global energy transition is driving unprecedented demand for Africa’s vast mineral wealth. From cobalt and manganese to lithium and copper, the continent holds some of the world’s most critical reserves needed to power clean energy technologies. Yet Africa’s mining history tells a troubling story: while its resources have fueled development elsewhere, too often African countries and communities have been left with little more than environmental damage, economic inequality, and social unrest.

As competition for Africa’s minerals intensifies, there is a serious risk that corruption will once again take root, deepening injustice and undermining the promise of a just transition. Past booms have shown how fast-paced dealmaking and weak oversight can open the door to graft, while local populations face forced relocations, land loss, health crises, and worsening environmental degradation. Without stronger governance, today’s green energy revolution could create a new form of green colonialism, where Africa’s resources are exported to decarbonize wealthier economies, but the benefits never reach those who need them most.

This briefing draws on NRGI’s experience across resource-rich African countries to examine the key corruption challenges in the mining sector - from licensing and contracting to state-owned enterprises and revenue collection. It highlights urgent risks and opportunities for reform, offering practical steps for governments, civil society, and international partners to ensure that Africa’s minerals power not only the world’s energy transition, but also a fairer, more sustainable future for the continent itself.