European weapons and Africa’s defense-critical raw materials

European weapons and Africa’s defense-critical raw materials  

Africa could play a crucial role in Europe’s new focus on building weapons.

By Leon Louw founder of WhyAfrica and Endorphin Expeditions and editor of the WhyAfrica magazine.   

While in Italy last month, I closely followed the developing story about the increased budget for building weapons in Europe. Most of Europe’s military stock has been depleted through military aid to Ukraine. At the same time Europe is also preparing for high-intensity conflicts (source: Defense news).

The European Union’s defense spending reached a record €279-billion in 2023 with projections to increase to €326 billion in 2024. Most of this budget is allocated to procurement of new weapons, systems and equipment.

Late last year Italy’s Parliament approved a €8.2-billion plan to procure new-generation tanks and enhance its ground forces. This initiative spans from 2025 to 2038, with €5.4 billion already allocated and the remaining €2.7-billion to be arranged. The program focuses specifically on acquiring new Main Battle Tanks (MBTs) (source: Reuters).

What raw materials are needed for weapons?  

This made me ask questions about the raw materials needed to build these weapons and systems. I started researching more about NATOs list of 12 defense-critical raw materials, if they are found in abundance in Africa and if so where in Africa.

It will come as no surprise that most of these materials are well-known in Africa.

The 12 defense-critical raw materials are: Aluminium; Beryllium; Cobalt; Gallium; Germanium; Graphite; Lithium; Manganese; Platinum; Rare Earth Elements (REEs); Titanium and Tungsten.

What is Beryllium used for?

My attention turned to Gallium and Germanium, but specifically to Beryllium. There has been a spike in demand for Beryllium in Europe recently. Almost at the same time a few new exploration projects focussed on Beryllium, in different regions of Africa, has come to my attention.

Beryllium is critical in the manufacturing of aircraft, satellites and missiles. It’s valued for its strength, lightweight, and resistance to high temperatures. Major deposits are found in the USA, China, Russia, Kazakhstan and Brazil.

In Africa, Beryllium is rare, but substantial deposits are found in Namibia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe and parts of Zambia.

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European weapons and Africa’s defense-critical raw materials