Is South Korea the new force driving Critical Mineral Development in Africa?

South Korea is strengthening cooperation with resource-rich African countries in critical minerals. This is hardly surprising given that critical minerals are essential to its high-tech industries. The country has an annual import demand of over US$36bn for critical minerals, including graphite, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and lithium, and is working to diversify its supply sources.

The country's strategy is to provide technology for resource exploration to African countries and secure critical minerals preemptively in Africa. Through this cooperation model, South Korea aims to reduce its dependence on China for critical mineral supply, while African countries seek opportunities to break away from the China-centric monopolistic resource development structure, creating synergy.

For instance, South Korea has already begun turning to Africa for graphite, a mineral that, while less publicised than lithium or cobalt, is essential for EV battery production – an industry in which South Korea accounts for a quarter of global output.

With the current centre of the global critical mineral supply chain shifting to Asia and Africa. South Korea might be the country leading the establishment of a new global supply chain in the future.