3 good reasons… To make technology a lever for resource sovereignty

Throughout the pages of this issue of POINT FOCUS, the question of the concrete means to ensure state sovereignty over its resources recurs. When combining this concern with current technological development worldwide, it is easy to find three good reasons to make these technologies the foundation of assumed sovereignty in the mining and oil sectors.

1. Sovereignty is first and foremost mastery of subsoil data.

African countries have long abandoned the field of exploration, notably because of its high cost. Without mastery of their subsoil data, negotiations with international companies are biased. By investing in cutting-edge exploration technologies – artificial intelligence for geophysical data analysis, advanced sensors, digital twins of deposits – our African states can themselves quantify the real value of their resources. They will thus be in a strong position to set advantageous conditions and dictate exploitation terms according to their long-term national strategic interest.

2. Sovereignty is also mastery of exploitation on the territory.

Mali’s vast size is one reason for the expansion of illegal mineral resource exploitation, one of the greatest obstacles to sovereignty. Technologies offer, at this level, an obvious advantage to our countries for monitoring territory and effectively combating this scourge. Examples of blockchain for tamper-proof supply chains, satellite remote sensing or drones prove that real-time control of extraction sites and transport corridors is possible. These tools offer states an unprecedented ability to know precisely what leaves their soil, certify the ethical origin of minerals, and ensure that royalties and taxes are correctly collected. Mining sovereignty, it is said, ultimately aims at economic sovereignty.

3. Sovereignty is finally mastery of local processing.

The challenge here is to move from the status of simple mineral exporter to that of high-tech material supplier. To achieve this, states must have innovative technologies and a trained workforce to demand local processing that maximizes the benefits from mining. Advanced metallurgy, clean refining or 3D printing are all assets to make African countries producers of finished products such as special alloys, batteries, etc.