Critical Minerals: Measures For Technological Sovereignty Unveiled

C ameroon’s Mining Expert, Dr Elias Pungong, has released a series of recommendations to aid the nation and the African conti­ nent at large attain the “zero net” thresh-hold of energy revolution by 2050 through the mining of critical minerals within the continent. The recommendations are contained in his book “Mining the Future; The Glo­ bal Race For Africa’s Critical Minerals,” that was launched in Yaounde on No­ vember 4, 2026 in the presence of Government officials including the acting Minister of Mines, Industry, and Technological Development, Pro­ fessor Fuh Calistus Gentry; the Mi­ nister Delegate in charge of Planning at the Ministry of the Economy, Plan­ ning and Regional Development, Paul Tasong; heads of investment corpo­ rations, mining companies, amongst an array of guests. The Six-Chapter-English language de­ but suggests that for Cameroon to reduce dependence on fossil fuels as well as curb its emissions, there is the dial need to dig deep into critical mineral and metals such as cobalt, thorium, iridium, lithium, and graphite, in order to underpin the green tech­ nological revolution that is progres­ sively gaining global markets. Dr Elias emphasizes the urgent need for the country to control its natural resources and curtail exclusive foreign exploi­ tation. “The African continent has the power to change its fortunes if it shifts from the current colonial model of extraction and sale to a more sus­ tainable extraction and transformation model including democratic accoun­ tability, which could enhance signifi­ cant moves up the global value chain. The author advocates for technolo­ gical sovereignty and the adaptation of technical education programmes to train a skilled local workforce. This strategy is presented as an essential roadmap for transforming subsoil wealth into a real lever for sustainable national development. Aligned with the recent discovery of high...