With the United States lagging behind China in the race for Africa’s strategic minerals, President Donald Trump is tightening his grip on an ecosystem where diplomats, financiers, and military officials rub shoulders.
Sources in Washington and African capitals confirm that Trump has quietly assembled a “critical minerals task force,” a team tasked with accelerating U.S. access to cobalt, lithium, rare earths, and other minerals essential for clean energy and defense technologies. The move comes as Beijing continues to dominate Africa’s mining sector, with long-standing investments in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, and Guinea.
A fragmented ecosystem ,Until now, U.S. engagement in Africa’s mineral sector has been fragmented. The State Department, Pentagon, and U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) each pursued parallel initiatives with little coordination. Trump’s task force is designed to consolidate those efforts, bringing diplomats, financiers, and military strategists under a single umbrella.
“The President wants everyone on the same page,” said a senior U.S. official involved in the discussions. “China has been years ahead in securing supply chains. We cannot afford to continue working in silos.”
Business meets geopolitics ,The task force includes major American mining firms, private equity players, and energy companies eager to secure long-term supply contracts. Wall Street financiers have been courted to inject capital into mining projects, while U.S. embassies in Africa have been instructed to prioritize high-level access for American investors.
The Pentagon, for its part, has pushed for supply chain security, citing national security risks if Washington continues to rely on Beijing for critical minerals. Discussions have even touched on the possibility of U.S.-Africa military cooperation to safeguard supply routes in unstable regions.
African leaders at the center ,Trump’s approach places African governments at the heart of the equation. Leaders in Kinshasa, Lusaka, and Conakry have already been approached with offers of infrastructure financing and security partnerships in exchange for favorable mining deals. But the competition is fierce: China still holds controlling stakes in many of the region’s largest projects, while European companies are also seeking to reposition themselves.
Strategic timing ,The creation of the task force coincides with growing pressure in Washington to reduce U.S. dependence on Chinese supply chains. With the electric vehicle boom and defense industries requiring ever more cobalt, lithium, and rare earths, Trump’s administration is trying to secure a foothold before it is too late.
“This is about more than minerals—it’s about leverage,” said an African diplomat in Washington. “Whoever controls these resources controls the future of energy and security.”
For Trump, the task force is a high-stakes gamble. Success could mark a turning point in U.S.-Africa relations and reassert American influence on a continent where Beijing has gained significant ground. Failure would only highlight Washington’s struggle to keep pace in the global race for resources.
