Delegations from the US, UK, Europe, Canada, Australia, China, Japan, South Korea and more will attend the inaugural Critical Minerals Africa summit in Cape Town this October—aimed at positioning Africa as the primary investment destination for critical minerals, according to event organizers Energy Capital & Power (ECP).

The Summit will bring policymakers and private sector players together to advance African critical minerals production and processing capacity, as well as establish roadmaps to attaining minerals and energy security, with a view to attracting capital and buyers to African projects.

Home to approximately one-third of the world’s mineral resources, the African continent has been at the center of global discussions around energy security and the energy transition, both of which have accelerated demand for minerals such as cobalt, copper, lithium, manganese and platinum group metals.

For Western nations such as the US and UK, mineral-rich countries such as South Africa, Namibia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) represent a strategic opportunity to meet growing demand for clean energy minerals and technologies, while diversifying critical minerals supply chains and reducing reliance on single producing or processing countries.

Countries like Japan, Indonesia and South Korea are also seeking to increase foreign investment and forge strategic partnerships in Africa, with Japan signing an agreement with the DRC last December to cooperate in rare earth mining and expand critical mineral supplies. Discussions led by the Minerals Security Partnership have also targeted increased supply chain cooperationwith African producers, evidenced by a meeting earlier this year that united 12 member countries including Australia, Canada, South Africa, France, Tanzania and the DRC.