“Poor infrastructure, including inadequate roads, railways, and energy supply, limits the extraction and export of minerals across Africa as of April 2026.”

Roads in SSA are often unpaved and poorly maintained, rail networks are limited, and ports lack sufficient capacity. As a result, SSA producers often incur increased transportation costs... Poor road conditions and inadequate access to electricity affect the competitive disadvantage in regional and global export markets.

In Africa, the annual infrastructure financing gap is estimated to be around $100 billion. The expansion of infrastructure for extracting minerals is a primary driver of corridor development in resource-rich countries.

Many African economies have vast critical mineral reserves, and their nascent industrial sectors imply vast export potential. To increase the benefits they reap from these minerals by building downstream capacity in processing, they need to improve their infrastructure, investment climate, and governance.

Much of Africa's transport infrastructure was originally designed to move raw materials out of the continent efficiently, rather than to support integrated regional trade or domestic value addition. Today, this results in logistics costs that are up to 250% higher than the global average, with poor connectivity adding 30–40% to operational expenses for mining companies. Border crossings can be slow and complex, energy grids are frequently unreliable, and the capital required to modernise infrastructure remains a barrier for many governments and investors.

Mining requires lots of energy and well-functioning connectivity infrastructure from mines to ports. For example, the rail and port financing needs for the Simandou mine in Guinea are estimated to be at least $6 billion, while the Lobito corridor for exporting minerals from the DRC may require up to $2.4 billion for completion. The Program for Infrastructure Development in Africa’s (PIDA’s) regional infrastructure projects (many of which are related to exports of minerals) are estimated to cost $360 billion by 2040.

In the African context, the lack of infrastructure acts as a heavy tax on production, rendering African goods uncompetitive in global markets. The cost of logistics in Africa is among the highest in the world, with transport costs adding up to 75% to the price of goods. Transport (roads, rail, ports) also suffers from a significant infrastructure gap in Africa, leading to high logistics costs.

Whilst the opportunities are significant, the report highlights the structural challenges that must be addressed to unlock Africa's full mining potential. Infrastructure – particularly in energy, transport, and logistics – remains a key constraint. Strategic investment in these areas will be essential to enabling large-scale industrial development.

ZIMBABWE’S crumbling rail system... is a huge stumbling block for its mining industry, raising transport costs and making local minerals less competitive globally. The poor rail infrastructure... is forcing mining companies to use expensive road transport... This makes Zimbabwean exports less competitive compared with countries that have functioning rail networks.

Despite its resource wealth, the industry faces persistent challenges, including infrastructure gaps, policy uncertainty, and rising operational costs. South Africa remains a mining powerhouse, producing 71.5% of global platinum and 42.7% of chromium in 2024. However, persistent structural issues, including high electricity costs, labour inefficiencies, and logistical constraints continue to challenge operations.

Export routes from southern Africa's mining regions are straining under record shipments of lithium, cobalt, and copper. Durban, July 24 — Export routes from southern Africa's mining regions are straining under record shipments of lithium, cobalt, and copper, highlighting logistical bottlenecks in mineral export corridors.

Mining has long been a cornerstone of Africa's economic development — but in 2025, it is clearer than ever that infrastructure is the key that unlocks its full potential. While the continent still faces hurdles in transport, power, and water access, a new wave of collaborative, sustainability-driven projects is shifting the trajectory.

Africa's current infrastructure deficit and its connection to mining. The scale of the challenge facing infrastructure development across Africa's different markets is stark. Approximately two-thirds of the continent's people have road access, with transport costs often double compared to other developing markets. Only 30% of Africa's population has regular access to electricity, with water and internet access below 10%.

Whilst the opportunities are significant, the report highlights the structural challenges that must be addressed to unlock Africa’s full mining potential. Infrastructure – particularly in energy, transport, and logistics – remains a key constraint. Strategic investment in these areas will be essential to enabling large-scale industrial development.

At the same time, companies are contending with rising input costs, degrading ore grades, ageing infrastructure, persistent safety challenges, and growing pressure to demonstrate environmental and social impact. Climate-related risks compound the challenge. Droughts in Southern Africa have disrupted hydroelectric power availability, while floods in Mozambique and Madagascar have damaged roads and rail networks, affecting the movement of goods and workers alike.

The challenge ahead is execution: whether tighter controls can translate into viable processing industries and sustainable jobs, or whether they risk deterring investment and driving more trade into informal channels. What is clear is that Africa’s era of unquestioned raw mineral exports is rapidly drawing to a close, implying ongoing limitations in processing and export capabilities due to infrastructure.

Mining does not operate in isolation, and MOTA 2026 highlights the ecosystems that enable success. Integrated infrastructure, renewable and hybrid energy solutions, and robust logistics are prerequisites for scaling extraction and export operations across the continent.

Although countries like Zimbabwe have made an effort to restrict the export of raw minerals in order to encourage domestic processing, these policies encounter several challenges, such as inadequate infrastructure, a lack of technological capability, and a dependence on foreign investment.

World Bank assessments consistently highlight that inadequate transport and energy infrastructure in sub-Saharan Africa raises mining logistics costs by 50-100% above global averages, constraining mineral exports as of 2025-2026. Projects like Lobito Corridor aim to mitigate but remain incomplete.

The African Continental Free Trade Area agreement highlights the increasing relevance of rail corridors to evacuate minerals to ports. As such, dozens of cross-border railway corridor projects are underway in Africa... This link and resulting Corridor should accommodate 24 million tons per year for bulk materials.

Several African nations hold vast oil and gas reserves, yet development has often lagged due to infrastructure and policy constraints. Importantly, Africa's opportunity extends beyond oil and gas. The global transition toward cleaner energy is driving demand for minerals like cobalt, lithium, copper and nickel. However, infrastructure remains a critical challenge.

About 10 million tonnes of South Africa's manganese exports still moved by road in 2025, even as the country shipped a record 26.2 million tonnes of the ore. It is the freight system needed to move ore from inland mines to ships at scale.

The issue of infrastructure needs to be given significant attention to and how it comes together with beneficiation on the African continent. To realize this vision requires coordinated investment in skills development, technology transfer and enabling infrastructure.