Burundi’s latest agreements with U.S.-based mining companies KoBold Metals and Lifezone Metals highlight a familiar pattern in Africa: the extraction of the continent’s resources under the guise of development and investment, while local populations see little benefit.
Signed in Washington, D.C. by Burundi’s Minister of Mineral Resources, Hassan Kibeya, alongside Lifezone CEO Chris Showalter, the deals are being promoted as a step toward attracting foreign investment. But beneath the diplomatic language lies a deeper reality: Africa’s minerals—critical for the global energy transition—are being positioned primarily to serve external industries rather than local development.
The first agreement links the Burundian government with KoBold Metals, a California-based company that specialises in using artificial intelligence to locate deposits of critical minerals. The partnership focuses on digitising Burundi’s geoscientific archives, including data held internationally—particularly at the Royal Museum for Central Africa. Notably, these same archives have been a source of controversy, as KoBold previously sought access to Congolese geological records but was blocked because the museum already has an agreement with the Democratic Republic of the Congo government.
Under the Burundi agreement, the first batch of digitised geological data is expected to be published before July 1, 2026, allowing foreign investors easier access to information about the country’s mineral wealth. KoBold, represented at the ceremony by legal director Sandy Alexander, will deploy advanced computing tools to analyse the data for commercially viable deposits of lithium, cobalt, copper, and other strategic minerals. While framed as a transparency initiative, the move primarily serves to de-risk exploration for foreign corporations, mapping Africa’s resources for external benefit while local communities remain excluded from high-value gains.
The second deal gives Lifezone Metals a 14-month exclusivity period to develop the Musongati Nickel Project, located within the East African nickel belt. The site is estimated to contain over 140 million tonnes of mineral resources, including nickel, copper, cobalt, gold, platinum-group metals, and scandium. Lifezone, a New York Stock Exchange-listed company, is positioned to take early control of the project, further consolidating foreign access to Burundi’s strategic minerals.
These agreements expose a broader structural problem: Africa provides the raw materials that power global industries, yet continues to sit at the lowest rung of the value chain. Burundi’s land, labour, and resources are being exploited to generate profits for foreign investors, while the country and its citizens gain little in terms of technology, industrial capacity, or long-term economic development. Without strong local ownership and strategic regulation, such deals risk repeating a familiar cycle—where Africa supplies the wealth but never reaps the rewards.
As global demand for critical minerals continues to accelerate, the scramble for Africa’s resources is intensifying. Burundi’s new mining agreements are a stark reminder that the continent remains trapped in a system designed for external gain, raising urgent questions about who truly benefits from Africa’s mineral riches.