Lithium in the Sahel: how armed groups are exploiting the global scramble for the critical mineral

Every electric vehicle, smartphone and laptop battery begins with one essential ingredient: lithium.

The critical mineral sits at the centre of the global transition to cleaner energy.

Lithium powers rechargeable batteries.

Securing its supply is, therefore, an economic and geopolitical priority.

The International Energy Agency expects global lithium demand to increase as electric vehicle production and renewable energy storage expands.

Africa, particularly the Sahel , is becoming increasingly important in the search for supply.

The current top producers are Chile, Australia and China.

The Sahel is a semi-arid zone running from west to east Africa, between the Sahara Desert to the north and the tropical savannas to the south.

Across this vast region, armed groups are finding new ways to profit from the expanding lithium trade.

Over 40,000 tonnes of lithium are already mined from African rock each year for international consumers.

This figure is set to rise to an estimated 500,000 tonnes by as early as 2030.

I am a researcher specialising in geopolitics and war studies.

In a recent study , I examined how expanding lithium extraction intersects with conflict across the Sahel.

I studied Mali, Niger, Burkina Faso, Chad and Nigeria.