Business & Economics
G20 Adopts Voluntary Critical Minerals Framework at Johannesburg Summit
On 23 Nov 2025, G20 leaders formally endorsed a non-binding ‘Critical Minerals Framework’ that for the first time commits the bloc to help mineral-rich developing states capture more value beyond raw-ore exports.
Focusing Facts
- Adopted in Johannesburg on 23 Nov 2025, the framework is explicitly voluntary yet covers all 20 member economies.
- Africa, holding an estimated 30 % of global critical-mineral reserves, currently captures only a small share of downstream value, South Africa’s minister Ronald Lamola noted in his summit address.
- A related Australia-Canada-India Technology & Innovation Partnership (ACITI) was launched the same day, with officials set to meet in Q1 2026 to deepen cooperation on green tech and critical-mineral supply chains.
Context
Resource-rich nations have tried similar collective leverage before—think OPEC’s 1960 founding (and 1973 embargo) or Chile, Peru and Zaire’s short-lived 1974 ‘Copper Cartel.’ Those episodes showed that producer coordination can tilt pricing power but also spur consuming nations to diversify and innovate. Today’s move occurs amid a 2020-s energy transition in which lithium, cobalt and rare earths are to batteries what oil was to combustion engines. The framework signals a shift from decades of extraction-led globalization toward localized beneficiation, stricter ESG norms and multi-node supply chains resilient to shocks like the 2020 pandemic or 2022-23 Russia sanctions. If producer countries manage to retain even a quarter more value over the next decade, it could rewrite development trajectories much as post-1945 steel industrialization did for Japan and South Korea. Conversely, if history rhymes with failed 1970s commodity alliances, the declaration will be remembered as rhetoric. Either way, it marks an inflection in the 100-year arc of how the world sources—and politically contests—the materials underpinning industrial revolutions.
Perspectives
Indian government-aligned news outlets
ANI, Asianet Newsable, LatestLY — Present the Critical Minerals Framework as a Modi-endorsed triumph for ‘human-centric, sustainable and inclusive’ growth, showcasing India’s leadership in steering the G20 toward Global South priorities. Coverage repeatedly quotes the Indian prime minister and mostly reproduces the G20 text verbatim, suggesting a promotional tone that downplays any disputes or limits of the voluntary, non-binding blueprint. ( Asian News International (ANI) , Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd )
African regional media
IOL, The Namibian — Frame the Framework as a long-overdue opportunity for Africa—holder of 30 % of the world’s critical minerals—to stop exporting cheap raw ore and capture more value through local processing and industrialisation. Nationalist economic messaging stresses historic exploitation and may overstate how much a voluntary G20 plan can actually shift entrenched global market power and investment flows.
Business-oriented financial press
Business Standard — Highlights the Framework’s potential to attract investment, diversify supply chains and create stable, resilient markets for critical minerals amid geopolitical risk. Investment-centric lens focuses on market efficiency and resilience while giving limited attention to environmental or community impacts repeatedly flagged in the declaration.