According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), Africa holds about 30% of the world’s critical mineral reserves. These minerals are essential to the energy transition, underpinning everything from electric vehicles to renewable energy systems. However, beyond the well publicized minerals, several obscure metals are gaining prominence due to their rarity and industrial value.
Pollucite : Zimbabwe joins the global cesium market
Pollucite is a rare crystalline mineral and the world’s primary source of cesium, a strategic metal used in high-precision applications like atomic clocks, deep-drilling fluids, and advanced electronics. Cesium is currently trading at approximately €2,450 per ounce (around $2,850) on the Shanghai Metals Market, reflecting its niche but critical status. Traditionally, Canada has dominated the global pollucite supply. However, Zimbabwe is now emerging as a new player in the field. In early July 2025, Chinese firm Sinomine inaugurated Africa’s first commercial pollucite processing plant in Zimbabwe. The facility is capable of producing between 150 and 300 tonnes of pollucite per month.
Although global reserves remain limited estimated by the US Geological Survey (USGS) at under 200,000 tonnes in 2023 Africa’s potential is growing, especially with identified deposits in Namibia. This positions Zimbabwe to become a key supplier of a highly strategic but geologically rare metal.
Ruthenium: a platinum group metal on the rise
Ruthenium, a lustrous, silver gray metal, belongs to the platinum group metals (PGMs) and is primarily obtained as a by product from mining platinum and nickel. Despite being the sixth rarest metal on Earth, ruthenium plays an increasingly important role in electronics, chemical production, and energy storage technologies. Major producers include South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Russia, with Africa holding significant reserves. According to precious metals refiner Johnson Matthey, the price of ruthenium has nearly doubled since 2024, reaching $800 per ounce, edging close to its all-time high of $870 set nearly two decades ago.
More Read
Industry experts, such as Sandeep Kaler quoted by Bloomberg, attribute this price surge to the booming demand from the artificial intelligence (AI) sector. As AI technologies expand, so does the need for specialized components where ruthenium is used suggesting a positive long-term outlook for African producers.
Germanium : a strategic semiconductor metal from the Congo
Germanium, though not as rare as ruthenium, is a strategic metal critical to modern electronics, telecommunications, and defense systems. It is usually extracted as a by product of zinc or PGM mining. While China currently controls about 60% of global supply, Africa is emerging as an alternative production hub.
In 2024, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) made a significant breakthrough by exporting germanium for the first time. The milestone came from the STL hydrometallurgical plant in Lubumbashi, operated by the Congolese state-owned company for the treatment of the lubumbashi slag heap. Germanium’s industrial importance lies in its optical and semiconductor properties, used in fiber optics, infrared optics, and high efficiency solar panels. According to Belgium’s Umicore, germanium is currently priced at $820 per ounce, reflecting its strategic role in high tech manufacturing and energy transition technologies.
Scarcity: an advantage and a challenge
While scarcity enhances the strategic value and price potential of metals like pollucite, ruthenium, and germanium, it can also hinder broader adoption. Limited availability often forces industries to seek more abundant substitutes, especially when the metals are needed only in small quantities. This paradox is particularly evident in the case of cesium. As noted by the USGS.
Except for cesium formate, cesium is used in relatively small scale applications that require just a few grams. Due to limited global availability, many applications have already shifted to substitutes, and some uses may no longer be viable.
This underscores a key issue for African producers: while tapping into rare metal markets offers high returns, long-term investment will require more than resource extraction it demands stable policy, downstream transformation, and integration into global high tech value chains.
