When Mali’s Bougouni project began shipping lithium to China last year, few outside the mining industry noticed. But for development financiers and climate policymakers, the move represented a much larger opportunity for the world’s poorest countries to benefit from their own resources.
The lithium exports marked a much-needed diversification from exporting gold, which made up more than 80% of the country’s exports in 2023. But the Malian government also managed to get more out of the deal by requiring local subcontracting for at least 51% of operations and increasing its stake in these projects from 20% to 35% in 2023.
Critical minerals are becoming the oil and gas of the 21st century. They are vital to green energy technology, iPhones, surveillance, and even X-ray machines — and world superpowers have noticed. While China has a hefty lead on the mineral race, the U.S. held its first ministerial on critical minerals on Feb. 4 and plans to stockpile them in the country, and the European Union passed a law in 2024 to start building up its own mineral reserves.