Led by Roberto Cecutti, Head of Trade and Economics, EU Delegation to South Africa and Sodhie Naicker, Managing Director of DMT and Kai Batla and Consortium Partner in AfricaMaVal, the presentation is one of several organized for the first day of the conference, serving to promote sustainable partnerships, policies and projects in raw materials and strengthen global critical mineral supply chains.   

The AfricaMaVal project – “Building EU-Africa Partnerships on the Sustainable Raw Materials Value Chain” – aims to ensure responsible mineral sourcing by European countries, while fostering sustainable development and ESG practices across the African continent. The project targets 10 case studies in Morocco, Senegal, Gabon, the DRC, Tanzania, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Namibia, South Africa and Madagascar, with a view to evaluating their respective mining and refining potential and strengthening their existing links to European partners.

Launched in June 2022 and set to run through November 2025, the AfricaMaVal initiative comes as Europe takes a mounting interest in Africa’s critical minerals as an alternative supply to China and Russia. The EU has classified rare earth minerals as critical to delivering its flagship Green Deal and digital transition, which targets carbon neutrality by 2050. 

The presentation aligns closely with the broader theme of CMA 2023 – Establishing the Critical Minerals Value Chain of the Future in Africa – which aims to position the continent as a global hub for sustainable mineral exploration, processing, technologies and trade.