<\/p>\n
<\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>You can also listen to this podcast on iono.fm here.<\/p>\n<p>Africa once again finds itself at the epicentre of global minerals demand, which are widely referred to as \u201ccritical\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>This occasion calls for an equally constructive response to foster sustainable development, as the \u201ctraditional\u201d mining model undertaken by economies that rely on this sector has produced debatable results, largely skewed towards extractivism as opposed to transformative alternatives.<\/p>\n<div class=\"visible-sm-block visible-xs-block m1010\">\n<div class=\"ad-container-wrapper\">\n<p>ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n<p>CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>According to the World Bank Group, over $500 billion in new mining investment must be realised to meet the twofold demand in critical minerals by 2040, and Africa bears 30% of the world\u2019s known mineral reserves.<\/p>\n<p>Read:<br \/>China\u2019s Li launches charm offensive on critical minerals at G20<br \/>New critical minerals strategy will add policy certainty \u2013 Mantashe<br \/>Critical minerals or a loaf of bread<\/p>\n<p>Copper, lithium, graphite, nickel and rare earth elements are the bedrocks of the green energy, defence, healthcare and automotive sectors, among others.<\/p>\n<p>Alex Benkenstein, programme head of the climate and natural resources programme at the South African Institute of International Affairs, joins The Business of Africa Podcast in this episode to look how the continent is positioning itself to be a well-functioning catchment area with notable outputs.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_1790740\" style=\"width: 454px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1790740\" class=\"wp-image-1790740 \" src=\"https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Alex_cropped-compressed-Copy-1-scaled-e1769079574143-555x606.jpg\" alt=\"minerals, Alex Benkenstein, sustainable development, World Bank Group\" width=\"444\" height=\"485\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Alex_cropped-compressed-Copy-1-scaled-e1769079574143-555x606.jpg 555w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Alex_cropped-compressed-Copy-1-scaled-e1769079574143-937x1024.jpg 937w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Alex_cropped-compressed-Copy-1-scaled-e1769079574143-137x150.jpg 137w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Alex_cropped-compressed-Copy-1-scaled-e1769079574143-1406x1536.jpg 1406w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Alex_cropped-compressed-Copy-1-scaled-e1769079574143-103x113.jpg 103w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Alex_cropped-compressed-Copy-1-scaled-e1769079574143-230x251.jpg 230w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Alex_cropped-compressed-Copy-1-scaled-e1769079574143-744x813.jpg 744w, https:\/\/www.moneyweb.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Alex_cropped-compressed-Copy-1-scaled-e1769079574143.jpg 1574w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 444px) 100vw, 444px\"\/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-1790740\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Alex Benkenstein. Image: Supplied<\/p>\n<div class=\"visible-sm-block visible-xs-block m1010\">\n<div class=\"ad-container-wrapper\">\n<p>ADVERTISEMENT:<\/p>\n<p>CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>He argues that a real global race for access to critical minerals is well under way, making it essential for continental players to be intentional about their interests.<\/p>\n<p>While many contradictions present themselves, Benkenstein argues these are not insurmountable.<\/p>\n<p>Tune in to find out why.<\/p>\n<p><em>Follow Moneyweb\u2019s in-depth finance and business news on WhatsApp here.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script data-cfasync=\"false\">\n !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)\n {if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?\n n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};\n if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version='2.0';\n n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;\n t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];\n s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,'script',\n 'https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/fbevents.js');\n fbq('init', '779812924991616');\n fbq('track', 'PageView');\n <\/script>#critical #minerals #Moneyweb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You can also listen to this po… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4],"tags":[1951,1952,942],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14861"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/microvibenews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}