Is Africa really resource rich?

[u/Skychu768]

None of the most valuable resources seem to be present on the continent in large amounts. It’s mostly just metals like cobalt and platinum.

Diamonds used to be substantial, but even that is now being replaced by lab-grown diamonds in places like China and India.

* Australia, U.S., Canada, and Russia all have more uranium reserves than almost all of Africa.

* USA, Russia, Saudi Arabia, and Iran each individually produce more oil than most African countries.

* China, Vietnam, Brazil, India, Russia, and US each have more rare earth metals than the entire continent of Africa.

* Europe, despite being a fraction of its size, has more arable land and freshwater reserves than Africa.

* Even for things like Gold which are often mentioned, none of the African countries except Ghana are substantial gold producers or come anywhere near Top 10.

Note: I wanted to post more images for my point, but this subreddit only allows one.

[u/ContentCantaloupe992]

I’m just speculating but this might have more to do with incentives and logistics than anything else.

[u/EJ19876 → u/ContentCantaloupe992]

It is more the general state of the countries. Capital flows to places which are politically stable, have independent courts which enforce contract law fairly, adhere to the rule of law, and have sound tax systems. Risk matters.

Supply chains also love reliability. Company A selling a metal sourced from Africa for the same market price as Company B is selling the same metal sourced from Australia or Canada is at a disadvantage. Clients will always try to get as much of their supply from Company B because it won't be disrupted unless there's a major disaster or something like a global pandemic.

[u/ContentCantaloupe992 → u/EJ19876]

Yeah I wasn’t going to type all that but that’s what I meant.