Published on 26 Feb 2025

South Korea sets its sight on African critical minerals

As industry demand for critical minerals crosses US$36bn Seoul seeks to secure raw material supply

South Korea is deepening its engagement with Africa to secure critical minerals essential to its high-tech industries. The country has an annual import demand of over US$36bn for critical minerals, including graphite, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and lithium, and is working to diversify its supply sources.

At the recent Korea-Africa Critical Minerals Dialogue – held alongside the African Mining Indaba in Cape Town, the continent’s largest mining event – South Korea outlined its ambition to strengthen cooperation with African nations. Kang In-sun, the country’s Second Vice Foreign Minister, said Seoul aims to build long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships in the sector. She also held separate meetings with mining ministers from Tanzania, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. Representatives from major Korean companies – POSCO International, LX International, Samsung C&T, Hyundai Everdigm, KCC Glass, and TKG Huchems – were present at the event, underscoring the private sector’s interest in Africa’s mining sector.

Korea relies on imports for 95.5% of its annual US$37.8bn critical minerals demand, according to data from its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, shared with the NTU-SBF Centre for African Studies. These minerals are crucial for producing electric vehicle (EV) and smartphone batteries. However, geopolitical risks – such as US-China trade tensions, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the Israel-Palestine conflict – have heightened concerns about supply chain vulnerabilities. Korea has also pointed to rising resource nationalism and export restrictions as additional risks.

To mitigate these threats, Seoul aims to reduce its reliance on certain countries for critical minerals to below 50%. Expanding partnerships with resource-rich African nations has become a key policy of Korea, a stance reinforced during the 2024 Korea-Africa Summit in Seoul, where the country highlighted its interest in Africa’s green energy minerals.

Korea has already begun turning to Africa for graphite, a mineral that, while less publicised than lithium or cobalt, is essential for EV battery production – an industry in which South Korea accounts for a quarter of global output. In 2023, Korean EV battery maker LG Energy Solution reached a preliminary agreement to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide in Morocco, crucial for manufacturing EV battery cathodes. Posco International, a Korean steel conglomerate with a significant battery materials business, last year also inked agreements with mining firms in Madagascar and Tanzania to bolster its graphite supply chain amid tightening export controls by China. Though graphite may not attract as much attention as lithium and cobalt, it is essential for EV batteries. At the very first Korea-Africa Summit in June last year (2024) South Korea committed US$2.5bn in concessional loans to Tanzania and signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance cooperation in mining investment and beneficiation of energy transition metals. An agreement on critical minerals was also concluded with Madagascar. Zimbabwe, which is rich in platinum, gold, nickel, chrome. Zimbabwe wants to see Korean mining firms invest in mineral extraction and processing. President Emmerson Mnangagwa is said to be considering opening an embassy in Seoul. Meanwhile, Nigeria which has significant deposits of lithium in Nasarawa, Kogi, Kwara, Ekiti, Cross River, and Edo state is also wooing South Korea. China, its primary graphite supplier, has imposed tighter export controls, pushing Korea to seek alternative sources.

At the Korea-Africa Critical Minerals Dialogue in Cape Town event, Kang requested Tanzania’s support in advancing an ongoing graphite mining project. POSCO International, a Korean steel conglomerate with a growing battery materials business, recently acquired a 19.9% stake in Black Rock Mining, which owns the Mahenge graphite mine in Tanzania. This investment provides POSCO with early access to graphite from the mine, strengthens its supply chain, and grants it global sales rights for industrial graphite. In Madagascar, POSCO has also signed an agreement with Canada’s NextSource Materials to secure 30,000 tonnes of flake graphite or 15,000 tonnes of spherical graphite annually for 10 years from the Molo mine. Meanwhile, STX Corporation, a Korean trading firm, has acquired the rights to trade graphite from the Caula mine in Mozambique.

Beyond graphite, LG Energy Solution signed a 2023 preliminary agreement with Yahua, a Chinese lithium producer, to produce battery-grade lithium hydroxide in Morocco. This material is essential for manufacturing cathodes, a key component of EV batteries. LG views the deal as an opportunity to strengthen its supply chains while taking advantage of Morocco’s free trade agreements with both the US and the EU.

Korea is also looking to assist African countries in terms of critical minerals exploration. During the event, a presentation by the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM) noted that Africa holds vast untapped mineral reserves but requires greater exploration budgets and technical expertise. KIGAM indicated that it could collaborate with African nations on joint mineral exploration, with the potential for Korean companies to participate in the future development of discovered deposits.

References

‘LG Energy Solution signs deal with China's Yahua on lithium supply in Morocco’, The Korea Times, 05 April 2023

'S.Korea's Posco International secures graphite in Africa', The Korea Economic Daily, 04 September 2023

‘Posco International expands secondary battery material business in Africa’, Posco International, 04 September 2023

‘Korea turns to Africa as China tightens graphite export curbs’, The Korea Times, 17 November 2023

'The South Korean critical minerals supply chain', Chambers and Partners, 15 January 2024

'Yoon pledges to enhance critical mineral partnership with Africa', Invest Korea, 05 June 2024

'POSCO Group expands investment in development of Tanzanian graphite mine to secure more graphite for secondary batteries and industrial applications', POSCO, 12 September 2024

'World economic situation and prospects 2025', United Nations, 09 January 2025

'Strategies of research cooperation between Korea-Africa', Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, 04 February 2025, (Supplied)

'The cooperative way with Ubuntu', Korea Mineral Resources Corporation, 04 February 2025 (Supplied)

'Critical minerals security policy of the Republic of Korea', Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, 04 February 2025 (Supplied)