Former Bank of Namibia Governor Johannes !Gawaxab has proposed establishing regional mineral processing hubs across Southern Africa to reduce production costs, attract investment and accelerate industrial development in mineral-producing countries.
Speaking at the CEO Dialogue in Johannesburg on 13 November 2026, !Gawaxab said Namibia and its regional partners should develop integrated mineral value chains supported by shared electricity infrastructure, efficient transport corridors and coordinated investment policies.
He proposed linking lithium resources in Namibia and Zimbabwe with manganese and platinum group metals from South Africa, as well as copper and cobalt from Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, to support the development of regional battery and mineral processing industries.
According to !Gawaxab, a coordinated regional approach would allow countries to specialise in different stages of mineral processing rather than attempting to establish complete value chains independently.
“The battery doesn’t care which border the cathode crossed. Investors care whether the corridor works,” !Gawaxab said.
He argued that regional processing hubs could improve the commercial viability of beneficiation projects by connecting mineral producers with processing facilities, energy infrastructure and export markets.
However, he warned that high electricity costs, regulatory uncertainty, infrastructure gaps and limited access to long-term financing remained major obstacles to investment in downstream mineral industries.
“Africa is endowed with resources and doesn’t have a minerals problem. It has an electrons problem, a rules problem, a competitiveness, and a patient-capital problem. Solve those four and value addition and development follow,” he said.
!Gawaxab identified access to affordable and reliable electricity as a critical requirement for regional processing hubs, particularly for energy-intensive operations such as smelting and refining.
“If we want the refinery here and not in Asia or Europe, our electricity has to compete with theirs. Today, in too many places, it doesn’t,” he said.
He called for greater regional electricity cooperation through the Southern African Power Pool, with Namibia and Botswana’s solar and wind resources contributing to industrial electricity supply across the region.
He also urged governments to encourage private-sector investment in electricity transmission infrastructure and develop open electricity markets that would allow industrial consumers to access competitively priced power.
His proposals come as Namibia seeks to expand domestic mineral beneficiation following the introduction of restrictions on the export of unprocessed lithium, cobalt, manganese, graphite and rare earths in 2023.
However, !Gawaxab warned that export restrictions alone would not attract investment in processing facilities without addressing electricity costs, infrastructure constraints and financing challenges.
“These moves show we have leverage. But leverage on its own does not build a refinery. Bans tell capital where it may not go. They don’t tell it where it should go,” he said.
He said regional mineral processing hubs would require predictable regulatory frameworks and clearly defined beneficiation policies to encourage long-term investment.
“Investors can live with tough rules. What we cannot price is rules that change,” he said.
On financing, !Gawaxab proposed mobilising capital from African pension funds, insurance companies and development finance institutions to support regional processing facilities and associated infrastructure.
He called for co-investment platforms through which institutional investors could participate in industrial projects, supported by guarantees and first-loss capital from development finance institutions.
“The capital to build Africa’s mineral value chains partly already sits in African balance sheets. We have not built the bridges to deploy it,” he said.
He also proposed long-term offtake agreements between international mineral buyers and African producers to improve the bankability of processing projects and secure financing.
!Gawaxab urged international partners to move beyond purchasing raw minerals towards co-financing processing facilities and supporting infrastructure in African producer countries.
He further proposed giving communities ownership stakes in mining, renewable energy and mineral processing projects to broaden participation in the economic benefits of industrial development.
He said the success of regional mineral processing initiatives should be measured by capital invested, infrastructure commissioned, commercially competitive businesses established and sustainable employment created.
