Sustainable development and Africa’s critical minerals: A multi-framework approach

Macdonald Amoah, Benjamin Sovacool, Zainab Usman, Abay Yimere, Fellow Cullen S. Hendrix, Nathaniel Dolton-Thornton, Karla Cervantes Barron, Director Morgan Bazilian, John Ayaburi, and Critical Minerals Program Manager Clarkson Kamurai examine how the disconnect between Africa’s continental governance framework, and the lived realities of resource extraction, by investigating how “top-down” industrial policies often marginalize local communities and the artisanal sector. Employing a multi-method qualitative approach, the research integrates a comparative analysis of mining impacts in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zimbabwe, and Zambia with primary stakeholder interviews along the cobalt value chain.  March 28, 2026.