Surging global demand for critical minerals presents a significant opportunity for resource-rich countries to harness wealth and improve living standards, but it has also increasingly triggered violence and poverty, World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala stated Wednesday.
Speaking before the U.N. Security Council, Okonjo-Iweala warned that critical minerals are now perceived as strategic assets rather than simple commodities, fueling interstate competition. Major economies are actively seeking supplies of these minerals, essential for technologies ranging from smartphones to fighter jets, which she cautioned could lead to heightened conflict. Developing economies risk becoming entrenched in the lowest levels of production, while higher-value jobs and profits remain elsewhere.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres highlighted the impact of this competition, noting that armed groups profit from illegal mining and smuggling of minerals like lithium and cobalt in eastern Congo, with civilians bearing the brunt of the ongoing conflict. In Sudan, Guterres added, the struggle for political and territorial control between government and paramilitary forces has been exacerbated by the exploitation of natural resources, particularly gold and gum arabic, leading to atrocities and mass displacement.
"The minerals beneath Africa or any developing region’s soil should never help to finance the conflicts above it," Okonjo-Iweala stated.
She proposed a pathway toward a more diversified and inclusive global economy where mineral wealth drives transformation rather than merely being extracted and processed abroad. Okonjo-Iweala outlined three priorities for achieving this: resource-rich developing countries should advocate for increased local processing, refining, and value addition; the international rule of law needs strengthening; and crucially, resource-rich countries should collaborate to leverage their positions, reversing the trend of exporting raw materials and importing finished goods while promoting investment.
"The world cannot achieve energy security, the green transition or digital transformation without them," Okonjo-Iweala said. She noted that Africa alone possesses approximately 30% of the world's critical minerals, with less than half of its mineral reserves yet to be explored. The continent holds significant deposits, including over 70% of global cobalt production from the Congo, South Africa's vast reserves of platinum and manganese, and major copper production from Zambia and the Congo. Additionally, 10 to 12 African nations have commercially exploitable lithium reserves, and 15 to 20 have similar deposits of rare earths.