Modern technology — phones, electric cars, grids, defense equipment — depends on a set of minerals whose supply is often concentrated in a few places, sometimes in conflict-affected regions. When supply sits in a small number of countries, localized disruption can have outsized global effects. This page explains why each mineral matters for conflict economies and links to the authoritative figures at the USGS. Warconomy publishes no mineral production or price figures of its own.
- Cobalt, copper, coltan/tantalum, tin and tungsten tie central Africa (incl. the DRC) to electronics and battery supply chains.
- Gold and uranium link the Sahel to financial and energy markets.
- Concentration is a structural exposure, not a claim that any conflict changed supply.
- Figures live at the USGS; a source-packet template is below for reviewed manual ingestion.
Why minerals matter in war economies
Minerals are the start of long supply chains. Where they are mined, and the corridors that move them to ports, can be exposed to conflict — which affects the people who depend on these livelihoods and the industries downstream. Concentration of supply means a problem in one place can be felt worldwide. The people who mine these minerals, often by hand, and those displaced by nearby conflict, come first.
Minerals at a glance
Each links to the official USGS commodity page for production, reserves and trade figures — Warconomy does not republish those numbers.
| Mineral | Used for | Why it matters in conflict economies | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cobalt | Rechargeable batteries (phones, electric vehicles), superalloys. | The Democratic Republic of the Congo is the dominant source of mined cobalt, so battery supply chains are highly exposed to disruption there. | USGS ↗ |
| Copper | Wiring, electrical grids, electric vehicles, construction. | Central Africa, including the DRC, is a significant copper source; copper is essential to electrification, so disruption raises supply risk. | USGS ↗ |
| Gold | Reserve asset, jewellery, electronics. | Gold is produced across Africa, including the Sahel; it is both an export earner for producer states and a global financial asset, and can be linked to conflict financing. | USGS ↗ |
| Tantalum (from coltan) | Capacitors in electronics (phones, computers). | Coltan, refined into tantalum, is mined in conflict-affected parts of central Africa, which is why supply-chain provenance is closely scrutinised. | USGS ↗ |
| Lithium | Rechargeable batteries for EVs and storage. | Lithium demand is rising fast for batteries; new African deposits draw investment, making local stability relevant to future supply. | USGS ↗ |
| Rare earth elements | Magnets, electronics, defense equipment, clean energy. | Mining and especially processing of rare earths are geographically concentrated, so supply risk runs along the whole chain. | USGS ↗ |
| Uranium | Fuel for nuclear power. | Several Sahel countries are notable uranium producers; concentrated supply means utilities watch political risk in producer states. | USGS ↗ |
| Nickel | Stainless steel, battery cathodes. | Nickel is central to batteries and steel; supply is concentrated in a few countries, so disruption has global reach. | USGS ↗ |
| Graphite | Battery anodes, refractories. | Graphite is a key battery input with concentrated mining and processing; African deposits are a growing source. | USGS ↗ |
| Tin | Solder for electronics, coatings. | Tin (from cassiterite) is mined in central Africa and is one of the minerals covered by conflict-mineral due-diligence rules. | USGS ↗ |
| Tungsten | Hard metals, cutting tools, electronics. | Tungsten (from wolframite) is among the central-African conflict minerals subject to supply-chain due diligence. | USGS ↗ |
What Warconomy data shows — and what it does not prove
- Warconomy does not yet carry a mineral production or price series; it links to USGS for those figures.
- It asserts no specific mine output, reserve or price, and no claim that a conflict changed supply by a measured amount.
- Supply concentration describes exposure, not a prediction of disruption.
- It does not track live mine production or real-time mineral prices.
Source-packet template (for future reviewed figures)
Before any mineral figure could appear on Warconomy, a reviewed source packet must supply:
- Exact commodity + country + year (e.g. cobalt, DR Congo, mine production, 2023).
- The exact value and unit as printed by USGS (e.g. thousand metric tons of cobalt content).
- Whether it is mine production, reserves, or refinery output (these differ).
- The exact USGS document title, page/table, and the publication's release date.
- A note on estimate status (USGS marks many values as estimates).
Related
Related briefings
Source-reviewed explainers (not live news) that put this page in context.
- Conflict in Africa and critical-mineral supply — Several minerals central to batteries and electronics — cobalt, copper, coltan, gold, lithium — are concentrated in conflict-affected parts of Africa. This explains the concentration and disruption-risk channels and flags where dedicated sources are still needed.
- Eastern DRC conflict: cobalt, copper and electronics supply chains — The Democratic Republic of the Congo dominates global mined cobalt and is a major copper source. This explains why concentration plus conflict creates supply-chain exposure, pointing to USGS minerals data rather than asserting outputs or prices.
- The Sahel: conflict, coups, uranium and gold — Sahel states are notable uranium and gold producers facing conflict and political upheaval. This explains the supply-concentration, mining-disruption and trade-route channels, pointing to USGS and industry data rather than asserting figures.
See the critical-minerals topic, the Africa conflict hub, the free data sources roadmap, and /minerals/data.json.