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For investors
Investors looking for mining opportunities in Africa
A roundup of where Africa's mining opportunities sit, by commodity and by country, and how AMIQ's project intelligence lets you find and research them across more than 2,100 projects.
Subscribe to research every project's phase, owner and verified contacts for yourself.
Suppliers, OEMs and EPCs who research African mining opportunities with AMIQ
The opportunity
Where Africa's mining opportunities are
Looking for the latest mining opportunities across Africa? The continent runs the full spread of commodities, from gold and copper to the battery and emissions metals now drawing the most attention, spread across thousands of projects at every stage of development. Below is a broad roundup of where those opportunities sit, by commodity and by country, with the project numbers AMIQ tracks for each.
Use it as a map for your own research. Every figure on this page links back to a live, searchable record on the AMIQ platform, where you can see each project's phase, its owner and operating structure, the consultants appointed to it and the verified contacts behind it.
Figures are drawn from the AMIQ platform
By commodity
Key opportunities, commodity by commodity
Each metal moves on its own demand story. Here is where Africa sits on the ones drawing the most interest, and the project pipeline behind each.
Gold
Gold climbed to record highs in 2020, breaching $2,000 an ounce in early August after a sustained run since late 2018. Higher prices lift the profitability of producers' existing assets and make it easier to bring new mines into production.
Of Africa's 788 gold mining projects, 190 sit in early development, from grassroots through to feasibility, so there is considerable movement still to come across the continent. Producers with strong assets, expansion and exploration upside, and lower production costs carry the most leverage to a rising gold price. You can research the full pipeline on the gold mining in Africa page.
Gold projects by stage
190 of 788 gold projects, roughly 24 percent, are in early development (grassroots to feasibility).
Rhodium
Rhodium's value soared in early 2020, hitting $8,750 an ounce on 17 January, its highest since 2008 and more than five times the price of gold. Demand is driven by tighter vehicle-emissions standards, since rhodium is used in catalytic converters to turn toxic exhaust gases into less harmful ones.
It is also extremely rare. More than 80 percent of primary rhodium supply is produced in South Africa, beneficiated from nickel and platinum ores, which concentrates the opportunity in a single country.
Rhodium at a glance
Over 80 percent of primary rhodium supply is produced in South Africa.
Lithium
Analysts forecast roughly 18 percent growth a year in lithium demand to 2030, with demand expected to pass 1.0 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent by 2027 as battery production scales up.
Africa holds 18 lithium projects at stages ranging from grassroots to operational, positioning the continent as a meaningful contributor to long-term battery-metal supply.
Lithium at a glance
Copper
A staple electrical conductor for almost 200 years, copper now also draws rising demand from renewables, battery storage, electric vehicles and electronics.
African copper supply is dominated by the DRC, with 50 mining projects and around 1.5 million tonnes produced, and Zambia, with 25 projects and about 950,000 tonnes in 2019. South Africa is a distant third at roughly 82,000 tonnes. Research the wider picture on the copper mining in Africa page.
Copper projects by country
Project counts by country, with annual production shown beneath each.
Palladium and the platinum group metals
Palladium hit records in March 2020 at $2,877.90 an ounce, more than 400 percent above its 2016 level. It is a key catalytic-converter metal, and tightening emissions rules worldwide keep demand firm, with China's newer standards needing around 30 percent more palladium per vehicle.
Beyond 32 operational PGM mines in South Africa and Zimbabwe, Africa has a further pipeline in development across the platinum group metals.
PGM projects in development, by phase
Nickel
Demand for nickel is forecast to rise over the medium term, supported by stainless-steel output and lithium-battery uptake, with the electric-vehicle pull on nickel expected to climb sharply over the next decade.
Africa holds 47 nickel projects across 16 countries at various stages, spreading the opportunity well beyond any single producer.
Nickel at a glance
The full picture
30 minerals across 2,100+ projects
Over the period covered, 30 different minerals are mined across more than 2,100 African projects, all tracked on AMIQ. Search any of them for the projects, phases and contacts behind the headline.
By country
Mining projects by country
Where the projects are. Counts span all commodities. Follow a country to research the operators and pipeline behind its number.
By lifecycle
Browse projects by lifecycle
Every project sits somewhere on the path from concept to operation. Each phase calls for different services, and the work clusters in different regions.
Grassroots
Services required: desktop and concept studies, grassroots exploration, perimeter drilling and reconnaissance.
Pre-feasibility
Services required: aeromagnetic and geophysical surveys, mapping, geochemical and soil sampling, core and infill drilling, modelling.
Feasibility
Services required: mine, equipment and process planning, funding, environmental impact studies, engineers and consultants, OEMs and suppliers.
Bankable
Services required: balance of funding, EPCM and EPC design and consulting, OEMs and suppliers.
Execution
Services required: civil works, construction, shaft-sinking, process-plant construction and roads.
By region
Regional summary
A wider read on the four broad regions and what each is known for. Explore the full set on the mining in Africa overview.
Southern Africa
The SADC bloc produces two-thirds of Africa's mineral exports by value. South Africa holds almost every commodity except crude oil and bauxite. Zimbabwe and South Africa together hold most of the world's PGM reserves. Botswana is the world's largest diamond producer by value, followed by Angola. And the DRC, Namibia and Zambia produce copper, cobalt and uranium.
View regionEast Africa
Tanzania is the largest regional miner of tanzanite and gold, with gold reserves estimated above 30 million ounces. Burundi has gold, copper, cobalt, nickel and uranium, while Kenya's focus is on gold.
View regionCentral and West Africa
Boom areas for iron-ore exploration and mining, alongside gold and diamonds. A revival of rail and port infrastructure has opened up new mines across Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.
North Africa
Home to around 85 percent of global phosphate reserves, with Morocco holding the lion's share. The region supplies roughly a quarter of world phosphate output for fertiliser.
View regionWhy AMIQ
Research every opportunity in one place
AMIQ is Africa's largest online mining information service, with more than 2,200 projects tracked, used by subscribers to find opportunities, track commodity performance and reach mine owners and suppliers.
2,100+ live projects
Current data on more than 2,100 projects across 30 minerals and the full spread of African countries.
Real-time reporting
Reporting, graphs and regional stats, with project updates from grassroots through to operational.
Verified decision-makers
Verified key contacts per project, plus custom alerts so you hear about movement as it happens.
Built for teams
Multi-user access, a currency converter and daily capital-value estimates for the projects you follow.
- Current data on 2,100+ projects
- Real-time intelligence with reporting and graphs
- Project updates from grassroots to operational
- Verified key contacts per project
- Custom alerts on the projects you track
- Multi-user access and a currency converter
The Multotec Group has gained great benefit since being one of the initial subscribers of Africa Mining IQ. The identification of upcoming project information and the contacts therein have been invaluable in allowing us to target and penetrate these projects with our equipment and market our product and service capabilities.
Research Africa's mining opportunities for yourself
Join AMIQ to search every project's phase, owner and verified contacts across the continent. AMIQ provides mining project information, not financial advice.
Questions investors ask
Mining opportunities in Africa: FAQ
Which mining opportunities does AMIQ cover?
AMIQ tracks more than 2,100 projects across 30 minerals and the full spread of African countries, from gold, copper and the platinum group metals to battery metals such as lithium and nickel. Each record shows the project's phase, its owner and operating structure, and the contacts behind it.
Does AMIQ give investment or financial advice?
No. AMIQ provides mining project information, not financial advice. The platform is a research tool: it gives you the project data, phases, ownership and contacts so you can carry out your own due diligence and reach the right people directly.
How do I research opportunities by commodity or country?
Start with a commodity such as gold or copper, or a country such as South Africa, Tanzania or the DRC. From there you can drill into individual projects, see what phase each has reached and find the operators and consultants involved.
Is AMIQ useful for suppliers and OEMs as well as investors?
Yes. The same project intelligence that helps investors map opportunities helps suppliers, OEMs and EPCs identify upcoming work, understand which phase a project has reached and reach the verified decision-makers who approve the spend.
How current is the information?
The platform is refreshed as project phases and ownership change, and the verified contacts held against each project are kept up to date. Custom alerts let you hear about movement on the projects you are following as it happens.
