Wunti Urges Africa to Process Lithium, Cobalt Locally Instead of Repeating Oil Mistake

The Chief Executive Officer of the World Energy Council Nigeria, Bala Wunti, has urged African countries to avoid repeating the mistakes made in the oil industry by exporting raw materials and importing finished products.

Wunti said the continent should develop local processing and manufacturing capacity for critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, graphite and rare earth elements as global demand for the resources continues to increase.

He made the call during the 2026 Concordia Annual Summit in New York, where he participated in a panel discussion titled, “Rare Currency: Critical Minerals in a Shifting Global Economy.”

The summit, held from September 20 to 23 at the Sheraton New York Times Square alongside the United Nations General Assembly, brought together heads of state, government officials and business leaders from more than 100 countries.

The panel examined the growing dependence of the United States on imported critical minerals, China’s dominance of mineral-processing capacity and the importance of the resources to defence, electricity generation, grid transmission, technology and industrial development.

Wunti, who has more than 30 years of experience in developing and financing large-scale energy projects and previously served as Chief Upstream Investment Officer at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, said urgent action was needed to close the global supply gap.

He said the transition in the global energy system was making mineral security increasingly important alongside energy security.

“The urgency, need and speed of action are essential,” Wunti said.

According to him, although the United States is seeking to expand domestic production of critical minerals, building new capacity could take decades, making partnerships with other countries necessary.

“Closing the supply gap has become a compelling national priority for the United States. However, domestic production takes decades, allies are indispensable, and a considerable distance remains between policy ambition and commercial reality,” he said.

Wunti said the global economy was gradually moving from an era dominated by hydrocarbons towards one in which strategic minerals would play a much greater role.

“For the past 50 years, we priced energy in barrels. For the next 50 years, we will price it in kilograms, including kilograms of lithium, cobalt, graphite and rare earth elements,” he said.

He warned that control of these resources and their supply chains would have major implications for the future global industrial system.

The WEC Nigeria chief specifically cautioned African countries against exporting critical minerals in their raw form without developing local processing industries.

“Exporting crude oil and importing refined petroleum products created poverty, not prosperity. That model must not be repeated with lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements,” he said.

While acknowledging that exporting mineral concentrates could sometimes be necessary in the early stages of developing a project, he said African countries should ultimately focus on processing minerals locally, attracting investment and creating jobs through value addition.

“Africa must not remain merely a source of raw materials. It must become a processing partner,” Wunti said.

He said countries that moved early to develop their mineral resources and participate in emerging markets would have opportunities to benefit from the growth of the critical-minerals industry.

According to him, the greater opportunity lies in processing, manufacturing, job creation and industrialisation rather than simply extracting minerals and shipping them abroad.

“The real prize is value addition through processing, factories, employment and industrialisation on the continent, rather than exporting those opportunities to Asia,” he said.

Nigeria Needs Bankable Mineral Projects

Speaking about Nigeria’s efforts to develop its 44 identified critical minerals, Wunti said the major challenge was not simply the existence of mineral resources but the ability to turn them into commercially viable investment opportunities.

“Having minerals in the ground is only the beginning. We had geological indications, but not proven reserves supported by JORC-compliant data. We also had good policies, but not clearly defined projects. The world invests in projects, not potential,” he said.

He identified reliable geological information, clearly defined projects, adequate infrastructure, predictable regulation, credible developers and viable routes to market as key requirements for attracting investment into the sector.

Wunti described the Nigerian Solid Minerals Company as a major investment platform for converting the country’s mineral resources into commercially viable projects.

He said the company was helping Nigeria move from simply highlighting its mineral potential to presenting investors with projects backed by clear commercial propositions.

“The company is moving Nigeria from simply saying, ‘We have minerals,’ to presenting investable projects with clear commercial propositions,” he said.

Wunti also explained that rare earth elements may not necessarily be scarce in the ground, but bringing them into commercial markets requires significant capital and advanced technology.

“Rare earth elements are not necessarily rare in the ground. They are rare in the market. Bringing them to market requires capital and technology,” he said.

He urged Nigeria to focus on securing actual commercial transactions rather than relying solely on presentations highlighting the country’s mineral potential.

“We must present investors with actual transactions, not merely presentations. Give me a credible price, and I will give you private capital,” he said.

Government Support and Private Capital

Wunti welcomed recent measures by the United States aimed at strengthening critical-mineral supply chains, including Executive Order 14241, development finance initiatives, export controls and bilateral mineral agreements.

He cited the $110-per-kilogram price floor for neodymium and praseodymium products under the MP Materials agreement as an example of government intervention that could provide greater commercial certainty for investors.

However, he stressed that African governments must combine international partnerships with sound domestic policies and commercial discipline.

“Ultimately, private capital must do the heavy lifting, but governments must make projects investable,” Wunti said.

He said governments should address challenges that private investors could not resolve on their own, including inadequate geological data, regulatory uncertainty, poor infrastructure, inefficient permitting processes and weak investment frameworks.

At the same time, he cautioned that government intervention could not make fundamentally unviable projects profitable.

“Investors still require competitive economics and credible buyers,” he said.

According to Wunti, JORC-compliant geological data, commercially viable prices, stable and competitive fiscal policies and credible buyers are essential to attracting long-term investment.

“The lesson is price, not pitch,” he said.

He said credible pricing mechanisms could help close the gap between government policy and commercial reality and encourage investment in mineral processing.

“When the right price and investment conditions are available, processing can come to Africa. That is how we move from potential to bankability, from barrels to kilograms, and from extraction to processing,” Wunti said.

Africa Must Build Resilient Supply Chains

Wunti also called for stronger and more diversified supply chains, while warning African countries against pursuing complete economic isolation.

“Pursue self-sufficiency, but do not pursue isolation. Complete independence is an illusion. Resilience is the goal,” he said.

He explained that supply-chain security did not necessarily mean producing every resource domestically.

“Security does not mean producing everything within your borders. It means ensuring that a competitor cannot cut off your supplies within 90 days,” he said.

Wunti said stronger partnerships between Africa and the United States could help unlock greater value from the continent’s mineral resources.

He proposed a model that combines American technology and capital with African mineral resources, processing capacity and human talent.

Such partnerships, he said, could help African countries move beyond exporting raw materials and establish stronger positions in the global critical-minerals value chain.

The Concordia Annual Summit is a global forum held alongside the United Nations General Assembly, bringing together leaders from government, business and civil society to discuss major international economic and geopolitical challenges.

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