Governance Risk Mapping: Mine to Market – Africa Edition

The report explores this dynamic through the tantalum and tungsten supply chains originating from the Great Lakes Region, with particular focus on the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda. Although these minerals and value chains have distinct characteristics, they provide wider lessons for policymakers, investors and commercial actors seeking to navigate governance risk in critical mineral supply chains across Africa and beyond.

The research finds that governance risk in these supply chains is not being eliminated but redistributed. Conflict and compliance pressures have reduced direct sourcing from parts of eastern DRC, but mineral flows have increasingly shifted through Rwanda and toward traders, processors, and markets operating under different levels of scrutiny. Existing traceability and due diligence systems have improved supply chain visibility, but conflict, weak oversight at aggregation points, and limited transparency in international trade and processing continue to create gaps between documented origin and the realities of upstream production.