Africa Pushes to Rewrite Global Mineral Rules at Mining Week 2026

A high-level delegation from S&P Global Energy will join the October 14–16 gathering to address the widening gap between Africa’s geological wealth and its industrial output. As demand for lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements surges—with lithium consumption projected to climb 350% by 2040—the conversation in Cape Town will center on moving beyond historical extraction models. Chief Energy Strategist Atul Arya and Head of Shipping and Metals Rahul Kapoor will lead discussions on policy alignment, mineral-code reforms, and the regulatory certainty required to foster domestic refining capacity.

Scaling Local Value and Market Transparency

Despite a decade-high in exploration activity, infrastructure constraints and rising production costs continue to dampen investment. To bridge this, S&P Global’s Platts division is expanding its price assessment frameworks to include spot markets for materials originating from Angola, Madagascar, Mozambique, Nigeria, South Africa, and Tanzania. By providing transparent, independent data for minerals like tungsten and neodymium-praseodymium, the firm aims to equip local producers with the leverage needed to secure fairer value in global supply chains. The event, organized by Energy Capital & Power, will run alongside the African Energy Week, linking mining potential directly to the energy and infrastructure systems essential for industrial growth.