The Fall and Rise of African Mining

After a general decline in foreign investment in minerals development between the 1960s and the late 1980s, many African nations experienced a resurgence in exploration and mine development activities during the 1990s. This has come as many African nations relaxed investment regulations for overseas investors, and worked to develop new mineral policy regimes more generally. Having considered the decline of the mineral industry in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, the paper investigates some of the causes of the recent resurgence. Consideration is then given to the future of minerals and energy in Africa and the potential contribution they might make in assisting further economic development.