Africa has long been central to global mineral supply chains, but the energy and digital transitions give this role a new spin.
Digital technologies are also changing how mineral exploration and extraction are conducted, with AI and automation playing increasingly prominent roles. This raises new questions, but old, familiar problems keep coming up too: who controls geological knowledge, which capabilities can develop locally, which technologies remain squarely in the hands of foreigners, and whose interests the new rush for minerals actually serves.
The promise that mining will drive Africa’s industrial development is hardly new, but it remains largely unfulfilled. Past experience may offer some lessons on why this is so, but in the new geopolitical context, where China has been gaining the upper hand in the mineral value chains and the West’s role has been diminishing, some of these lessons may be obsolete. The workshop will provide a space to discuss how much room African governments, firms and communities have to influence the terms of investment and what constraints their choices. We will look at how these constraints compare with those faced in the past, and where old dependencies are taking new forms.
Following the June meeting in Florence on digital infrastructure, the Wrocław workshop brings together researchers and policy specialists from GRID-AFRICA and invited institutions. Three thematic panels will draw on country and sector case studies to discuss established and emerging mineral value chains, shifts in governance and the local consequences of changes in exploration, mining and processing. Participants will also have time to compare findings and work out which questions they want to pursue together through joint publications and research proposals.
Format
The workshop is planned for 3–4 December, with an opening keynote, followed by a full day of panels on Friday. The detailed programme will soon be available. Participants will bring complementary research and policy expertise, including perspectives from African institutions.
Panel themes
1. Technology, knowledge and control in mineral production
This panel will examine how digital technologies are changing mineral exploration, extraction and processing. It will focus on who owns the knowledge and technology behind these changes, what African firms and workers can learn, and where dependence on foreign companies persists or takes new forms.
Illustrative questions include:
• Who controls geological data and the tools used to interpret it, and what does this mean for African governments and firms seeking to develop their mineral resources?
• How are AI and automation changing work in mining, and which skills and capabilities can be built and retained locally?
• Do new technologies make it easier for African firms and artisanal producers to participate in mineral production, or place more of it beyond their reach?
2. Mineral wealth and the promise of industrial development
This panel will revisit the expectation that mineral investment can drive Africa’s industrial development. Drawing on past and current experience, it will consider why some attempts to connect mining with processing, manufacturing and domestic suppliers have worked while others have fallen short, and whether the present rush for critical minerals changes those prospects.
Illustrative questions include:
• What explains the different outcomes of earlier efforts to turn mineral wealth into industrial development, and which lessons still apply?
• How are changes in mineral demand, technologies and investment affecting the prospects for processing and manufacturing in African producing economies?
• What would allow domestic suppliers to take on more demanding work and build expertise of their own, and how far can local content policies and regional cooperation help?
3. Geopolitical rivalry and African bargaining power
This panel will examine what competition over critical minerals means for the terms African governments, firms and communities can negotiate. It will consider the role of Chinese and Western partners, the choices available to African actors, and the limits of treating external competition as an opportunity for greater bargaining power.
Illustrative questions include:
• Where does competition among Chinese, Western and other partners give African governments more room to negotiate, and where does it make little difference?
• How do financing, ownership and offtake agreements affect control over mineral projects and the freedom to pursue domestic development priorities?
• Whose priorities shape mineral deals within producing countries, and how much influence do domestic firms, workers and affected communities have over the commitments made?
Contributions addressing broader comparative or conceptual issues are also welcome, including:
• Whose priorities define a mineral as critical, and how do these priorities compare with those of producing countries?
• How are African actors negotiating, adapting or contesting external models of mineral investment and governance?
• What explains differences in development outcomes across countries, commodities and forms of mining, and what can be learned from those comparisons?
Joint research and follow up
The discussions will contribute to a joint analytical note on critical mineral strategies and African agency, and to a synthesis of the GRID-AFRICA workshops. Participants will also have time to develop shared research questions and discuss possible joint publications and funding opportunities, including Horizon Europe.
This activity is co-funded the EUI Widening Europe Programme. The EUI Widening Europe Programme, backed by contributions from the European Union and EUI Contracting States, is designed to strengthen internationalisation, competitiveness, and quality in research in Widening countries, and thus foster a more cohesive European Higher Education and Research Area.
At the EUI and the Robert Schuman Centre, we are dedicated to removing barriers and providing equal opportunities for everyone. Please contact the logistics organiser of the event if you have any accessibility needs.