Africa’s minerals should power African industries — not just fill export ships. That was the message from Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Prof Blade Nzimande, who told delegates at SADC Industrialisation Week that mineral beneficiation must sit “at the absolute centre” of the continent’s economic conversation.
Speaking during a panel discussion on critical minerals at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli ICC in Durban, Nzimande outlined how strategic local processing can create regional value chains and sustainable economic growth across Southern Africa.
Beyond Raw Exports
Nzimande opened by referencing President Cyril Ramaphosa’s keynote at the 2026 Africa Energy Indaba, echoing the President’s assertion that Africa’s vast underground critical minerals are increasingly essential to global technology and energy applications.
“President Ramaphosa emphasised that the promise of Agenda 2063 relies not just on universal access to energy, but on productive access. This is access that empowers African economies to move beyond merely exporting raw materials and towards localised value addition,” Nzimande said.
Critical minerals, he stressed, have become the bedrock of modern economic growth, industrial competitiveness, energy security and the global transition to clean technologies. For the SADC region, the challenge is no longer proving these resources exist — it is actively leveraging them to unlock widespread industrialisation.
Hydrogen and Batteries: South Africa’s Two Big Bets
Setting out the Department of Science, Technology and Innovation’s perspective, the Minister described critical minerals as strategic enablers of future industries rather than ordinary commodities, and pointed to two sectors driving South Africa’s transition: the hydrogen economy and the battery economy.
Both are central pillars of South Africa’s Decadal Plan for Science, Technology and Innovation (2022–2032), which supports the country’s just energy transition and inclusive economic growth.
South Africa is hardly starting from scratch. Nzimande reminded delegates of the country’s long-standing institutional foundations — including the 15-year Hydrogen South Africa (HySA) strategy launched in 2007, which built a strong base for hydrogen and fuel cell technologies well before the world’s current hydrogen rush.
Science Meets the Assembly Line
The department continues to lead public-private partnership models aimed at bridging foundational scientific research with market-ready manufacturing solutions across the SADC region — the connective tissue between the laboratory and the factory floor.
With the region’s mineral wealth, South Africa’s research infrastructure and a shared industrialisation agenda on display in Durban this week, the pieces are aligning for a Southern Africa that refines, manufactures and innovates — adding value at home, and exporting products rather than just potential, according to SAnews.
Photo: commons.wikimedia.org
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