Geostrategic Daily

The Africa Report · 14 September 2026

Glencore vs Mercuria: The battle for critical minerals heats up

Glencore has long dominated Africa's minerals market. Mercuria, an energy trader, is now expanding into copper, cobalt and zinc, with the rivalry playing out in Guinea and the DRC.

Why it matters: This competition for critical minerals in Africa is reshaping the continent's minerals market.

critical minerals · supply chain risk

Record

Source
The Africa Report (tier 1)
Published
14 September 2026
Link
https://www.theafricareport.com/430617/glencore-vs-mercuria-the-battle-for-critical-minerals-heats-up/
Content depth
partial
Regions
sub-saharan-africa
Subregions
copperbelt, west-africa
Actors
Glencore, Mercuria
Also reported by
Bing News: "minerais critiques" Afrique
Edition
2026-09-15

Grounding

Verbatim spans from the source text that support the summary above.

Africa’s minerals market is seeing new competition emerge
Mercuria, which built its name in energy, is now pushing hard into copper, cobalt and zinc
a rivalry playing out in Guinea and the DRC