According to the International Trade Center, South Africa – the world’s largest producer of chrome and platinum group metals – along with  Zambia – Africa’s second-largest copper producer – and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – the world’s largest cobalt producer and Africa’s leading copper exporter – each recorded at least $15 billion in mineral exports in 2024. Zimbabwe, Egypt, Ghana and Guinea-Conakry also reported strong results, generating between $5 billion and $15 billion in mineral export revenues over the same period.

Export momentum further accelerated in 2025, driven by sustained commodity prices and rising global demand for critical minerals – demand that is expected to quadruple by 2040. Several African markets are already on track to surpass 2024 export records. Ghana, for example, recorded $8 billion in gold exports between January and October 2025 from artisanal and small-scale mining alone, while Zimbabwe exported $1.93 billion in minerals during the first nine months of the year, up from $1.1 billion during the same period in 2024. In Zambia, copper continues to dominate the country’s trade, accounting for roughly 70% of total export earnings.

Meanwhile, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, Kenya, Gabon, Mauritania, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Algeria, Libya and Tunisia each achieved between $1 billion and $5 billion in mineral exports in 2024. Chad, Sudan, Niger, Mali, Ethiopia, Somalia and the Central African Republic recorded exports of up to $1 billion.

With Zambia targeting copper output of three million tons per year, the DRC working to unlock the roughly 90% of its mineral resources that remain untapped, and Zimbabwe accelerating development of its lithium and platinum industries, mining’s contribution to export stability is set to deepen. At the same time, new rare-earths projects in Angola and Malawi, graphite development in Tanzania, and expanding lithium and gold output in Mali present opportunities for the sector to further strengthen Africa’s export capacity amid rising global demand.

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