Comprehensive laws needed to reduce mining harms in Africa - study

There is a need for a comprehensive continental, regional and state-based legal and regulatory system on minerals to reduce harm in extraction and increase the benefits of mining to communities and biodiversity, a study has found.

The book-length preliminary report dubbed The Power of Minerals: The State of Green Energy Minerals in Africa argues that while expanding jobs, business opportunities and infrastructure in terms of roads, health, education, access to water and sanitation, mining ought not to cause social disruptions, displacement, health risks, environmental degradation, social tension and violent conflict among local communities.

“More than any other time in history, local communities in mining sites across Africa face a crossroads. The reason is the surge in the global demand for critical minerals used in many clean energy technologies such as batteries (Lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese and graphite)wind turbines and electric vehicle motors (rare earth elements) and in electricity networks (copper and aluminium,” the report states.

The research notes that under the AU, there is the mineral, legal and normative framework that consists of the Africa Mining Vision, the Africa Minerals and Energy Resources Classification and Management System and the African Minerals Governance Framework as a response to the energy transition minerals boom.

There are also sub-regional-based frameworks, for instance, the Protocol on Mining among SADC, the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, as well as arrangements under COMESA, and ECOWAS.

However, the AU, its Regional Economic Communities and member states should consider ado[ting frameworks specifically targeting the green energy minerals to guide country-based processes, the report says.

“Such legislation should prioritize innovation, sustainable development, green transition, and value addition activities involving copper and cobalt mining”.

It notes that such a targeted approach will help maximise the positive impact of the mining of green energy minerals on local communalities while fostering long-term economic growth and development and protecting the environment.

The study is co-authored by Profs Peter Kagwanja and Qian Xingkun and jointly supported, and researched by the Africa Policy Institute and the China National Petroleum Corporation  - Economic and Technological Research Institute (CNPC-ETRI).

The report was launched at the 2024 China-Africa Think Tanks Energy Forum in N’Djamena, Chad, on December 5, and will be accessible from January 2025.

The research focussed on key mineral-producing countries in Africa such as Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, DRC, South Sudan, South Africa, Guinea, Mauritania, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Speaking during the launch, Prof Kagwanja called for “clean energy for clean communities”, saying there is a need for stakeholders to deal with environmental degradation, health risks, social tension and conflicts and displacement.

To enhance benefits and deal with claims of debt-trap diplomacy, Prof Kagwanja said there is a need to pay for minerals so that Africa pays for its infrastructure — roads, bridges, ports and dams — as well as pat for technical support.

NEGATIVE IMPACTS

The report indicates that the production and processing of  African-based minerals  — whose consumption the International Energy Agency estimates will increase six-fold by 2050 — has both harmful and beneficial impacts on communities living in the mining areas.

“In some cases, the production of these energy transition minerals has disrupted the culture and stability of local communities, fuelled social tension and stoked violent conflict. 

"Mining of these minerals has also resulted in severe damage of the environment, injured health and increased risk of several diseases, raised healthcare costs, destroyed livelihoods, contributed to inadequate infrastructure, poor services and increased migrations,” the report says.

For instance, it notes that decades of mining in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia have left many areas contaminated with poisonous substances. Illegal mining, on the other hand, can have long-term impacts on the environment, including the formation of sinkholes, contamination of the soil, ground and surface water, soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, health risks and even death.

“It is a paradox that the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is one of the richest countries in mineral wealth in the world estimated at $24 trillion and yet also among the bottom five poorest countries on the planet. It is the world’s leading producer of cobalt, is neck-and-neck with Peru for copper production and is the world’s largest diamond producer.

“The DRC is also known for its hydropower potential, arable land, biodiversity, and the world second-largest rainforest. Despite its wealth of natural resources, the DRC is also one of the most unstable countries in the world, plagued by decades of conflicts,” the report says.

NEED FOR REGULATIONS

Consequently, with the growing demand for minerals driving the energy transitions, laws to secure the environment in mining areas have become important.

However, despite various legal and regulatory provisions in the DRC being in place, the lack of transparency of resource returns have led to economic development that excludes the general public.

Dr Adetoro Olaniyi Banwo, a researcher at the University of Lagos, says there is need for transparency in negotiations with foreign countries/ companies, and that the engagements should be free of corruption for African people to draw maximum benefits from minerals.

“National interests should be paramount in dealing with foreign powers and exploration should not be at the expense of the environment,” he said.

South Sudan, which is rich in among others gold, silver, oil and mica — a lot of it untapped — has prioritized developing a regulatory framework to encourage long-term growth, promote investment in exploration, develop mining projects, capacity development and sharing of resources, expertise and knowledge on mining.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Prof Qian of CNPC-ETRI said mineral exploration should be for the advancement of people and economy, and for maximum benefits, there is need to “think about each step with a development plan, think about the future as a group”.

“Africa has the resources but not the [technical] human resource, thus the need for collaboration. You cannot develop alone, you need partners. China and Africa share the agenda of global energy supply and sustainability.

“There is also need for a stable environment to develop. When the environment is unstable, we cannot develop. And good laws will help a country develop,” Prof Qian said.

Overall, the report finds that in most African states, mining is regulated, and there are efforts to harmonize country laws with regional frameworks governing the mining sector, including the clean energy minerals.

“However, many of the legal and regulatory frameworks that exist in Africa are not effectively enforced owing to lack of capacity, corruption, bad governance, political instability and the influence of external partners who benefit more from exporting raw minerals from Africa,” it says.

Additionally, there are few specific laws on critical minerals and mining companies often fail to share the benefits of mining with communities, which then fuels resentment, tension and conflicts.

Africa is also facing the problem of a “largely unregulated and dangerous” artisanal mining, especially in DRC, where miners work in unsafe conditions, exposed to toxic substances such as mercury.

As part of its recommendations for Africa to benefit more from its minerals, the study recommends increased investment in value addition of minerals in Africa; innovation in climate friendly technologies to mainstream Africa with the global value-chain, enhanced environmental and governance standards; scale up recycling; increase market transparency and supply chain resilience and strengthen South-South collaboration.