News inbound everywhere you look!19 Nov 2025 10:20
REE projects in Malawi mentioned on the sidelines!
Discussions at the Raw Materials Week in Belgium is critical for Africa and Europe
I find myself in Europe at a time that might prove to be one of the most important weeks for Africa’s mining and exploration industry and its future relationship with Europe.
With defence budgets in countries like Italy, France, Germany and the United Kingdom at or near record levels in the post-Cold War era the EU is scrambling to secure reliable supply of critical materials outside of China.
What they need is long-term partnerships with countries that can guarantee them access to Rare Earth Elements (REEs), battery metals and defence minerals.
Discussions over the next three days at the 10th Raw Materials Week taking place at the Le Plaza Hotel in Brussels, Belgium will be most interesting to follow.
The event is organised by the European Commission and this year the focus will be on implementing the Critical Raw Materials Act, advancing strategic projects, streamlining permitting, and mobilising sustainable investment.
Core discussions will centre on building robust and diversified strategic supply chains, boosting domestic production, promoting circularity, and strengthening international partnerships to enhance competitiveness and build a resilient industrial future in Europe.
The geopolitical landscape has shifted and Europe is responding. Earlier this year, Jozef Síkela, the EU Commissioner for International Partnerships, said that securing reliable supplies of critical raw materials is essential for the modernisation of Europe’s economies.
Several of the EU’s 13 “strategic projects” under the Critical Raw Materials Act are in African countries.
Europe is signaling clearly that securing access to critical minerals is now a strategic priority equal to energy security and defence readiness. The urgent need for metals such as neodymium, dysprosium, copper, nickel and cobalt is driven as much by military applications as by the green economy.
As Europe seeks to reduce geopolitical exposure, Africa has become central to the conversation. The EU’s partnerships will increasingly hinge on value addition, processing agreements, shared infrastructure and traceability systems that satisfy both Europe’s ESG obligations and Africa’s development ambitions.
The balance of power is slowly shifting, and African governments are more assertive about beneficiation and long-term industrial development.
REE and copper projects in Malawi, South Africa and the DRC are mentioned in conversations on the sidelines and recent articles about critical materials.
I am on the ground in Europe, reporting for WhyAfrica from Rome, Italy about REEs, critical materials and defence minerals as the EU continues diversifying supply chains away from China and builds stronger relationships with the African continent.
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