JOHANNESBURG/LAGOS/BRUSSELS ¨C From Zimbabwe¡¯s lithium-rich rocks to Democratic Republic of Congo¡¯s cobalt, minerals critical for clean energy technologies are increasingly in demand from Africa¡¯s trade partners as part of the global green transition from planet-warming fossil fuels.
Yet on a continent long blighted by the so-called ¡°resource curse¡± ¡ª whereby nations rich in oil or gold, for example, have failed to convert this into wider prosperity ¡ª governments have increasingly restricted or banned mineral exports in recent years in a bid to boost processing and retain more of the gains.
This strategy could backfire, however, by deterring foreign investment, several analysts said.
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