* Africa is estimated to host 30 percent of the world’s mineral reserves, and an even higher proportion of deposits of gold, platinum, diamonds and manganese.
* Africa has 10 percent of the world’s reserves of oil; 40 percent of the world’s gold; 80 percent to 90 percent of the world’s chromium and platinum.
* Production of oil, gas and most minerals in Africa is set to continue to grow at 2 percent to 4 percent per year.
* South Africa produces three-quarters of the world’s platinum, 40 percent of chromium and more than 15 percent of gold and manganese.
* Guinea accounts for 8 percent of world bauxite production.
* The Democratic Republic of the Congo accounted in 2010 for half of production the world’s cobalt, one quarter of industrial diamonds, 14 percent of tantalum, and 3 percent of copper and tin.
* Zambia is estimated to rank sixth in the world in the production of copper ore and fifth in the production of cobalt ore.
* Botswana accounts for around 20 percent of diamond exports.
* Africa’s gold producers – mainly Burkina Faso, Ghana, Guinea, Mali and Tanzania – together account for 9 percent of gold production, double the share in 2000.
* Sierra Leone is the 10th-ranked producer of diamonds by volume and the third-ranked producer of rutile, a heavy mineral used in paints, ceramics and plastics.
* Namibia and Niger are respectively the fourth-and fifth-ranked producers of uranium, together accounting for about 17 percent of world output.
* Guinea has some of the world’s highest-grade iron ore reserves.
* BHP Billiton, the world’s largest mining company, also holds four licenses for iron ore exploration in Liberia.
* Proven oil reserves in Africa increased by 15 million barrels between 2010 and 2011.
