The Chief Executive Officer of the World Energy Council Nigeria, Bala Wunti, has urged African countries to avoid repeating the economic model of exporting crude oil while importing refined petroleum products, warning against doing the same with critical minerals.
Wunti spoke at the 2026 Concordia Annual Summit in New York during a panel discussion titled, “Rare Currency: Critical Minerals in a Shifting Global Economy.”
He said Africa should move beyond exporting raw materials and develop processing capacity to become a competitive partner in the global critical minerals industry.
“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.
“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.”
Wunti said Africa’s opportunity lies in local value addition through processing, manufacturing, job creation and industrialisation.
“Africa must not remain merely a source of raw materials. It must become a processing partner,” he said.
“The real prize is value addition through processing, factories, employment and industrialisation on the continent, rather than exporting those opportunities to Asia.”
Addressing Nigeria’s efforts to develop its 44 identified critical minerals, Wunti said deposits alone were insufficient to attract investment, stressing the need for reliable geological data and commercially viable projects.
“Having minerals in the ground is only the beginning,” he said. “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 identified reliable geological data, clear projects, infrastructure, predictable regulation, credible developers and viable market access as key requirements for attracting capital.
Wunti described the Nigerian Solid Minerals Company as the country’s flagship investment platform for turning mineral resources into commercially viable projects.
“The company is moving Nigeria from simply saying, ‘We have minerals,’ to presenting investable projects with clear commercial propositions,” he said.
“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 also called for commercially structured transactions rather than promotional presentations.
“We must present investors with actual transactions, not merely presentations. Give me a credible price, and I will give you private capital,” he said.
Wunti said governments could make projects more investable by addressing geological, regulatory, infrastructure and permitting challenges, but stressed that private capital must ultimately determine commercial viability.
“Ultimately, private capital must do the heavy lifting, but governments must make projects investable,” he said.
He identified JORC-compliant geological data, commercially viable prices, stable and competitive fiscal systems, and credible buyers as four key requirements for attracting investment.
“The lesson is price, not pitch.”
Wunti urged African governments to strengthen domestic supply chains while maintaining international partnerships.
“Pursue self sufficiency, but do not pursue isolation,” he said. “Complete independence is an illusion. Resilience is the goal.”
He said collaboration between American technology and capital and Africa’s mineral resources could help build more resilient global critical-mineral supply chains.
