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China has been ramping up its investments across Africa’s mining sector, aiming to secure vital minerals like cobalt, lithium, manganese, and bauxite resources essential for powering its clean energy and industrial ambitions. In just the first half of 2025, Guinea exported close to 100 million tonnes of bauxite, and Zimbabwe shipped around 1 million tonnes of spodumene concentrate, a key lithium-bearing mineral. Today, more than 80% of China’s cobalt and manganese imports come from Africa, reflecting just how central the continent has become to Beijing’s resource strategy.

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While these mineral cargoes are still smaller in volume than giants like coal and iron ore, they’re quietly reshaping dry bulk trade routes. The longer shipping distances and growing volumes are boosting tonne-miles a key measure of transport demand. Countries like Zimbabwe are also introducing policies to ban raw lithium exports and build out local processing, turning once-opportunistic shipments into more stable trade flows. As these exports gain structure, there’s rising demand for geared vessels, and new cargo routes are emerging—potentially stretching toward Europe and the U.S. in the near future.

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