Africa Natural Resources

Africa has a large quantity of natural resources including diamonds, salt, gold, iron, cobalt, uranium, copper, bauxite,

silver, petroleum and cocoa beans, but also woods and tropical fruits. Much of its natural resources are

undiscovered or barely harnessed. Having a low human density, for a long period of time Africa has been colonized

by more dynamic groups, exploiting African resources. Some economists[who?] have talked about the 'scourge of

raw materials', large quantities of rare raw materials putting Africa under heavy pressures and tensions, leading to

wars and slow development. African oil takes growing importance, mainly after the 2003 oil crisis and recent oil

reserves discoveries. Sudan and Nigeria are two of the main oil producers. China owns 40% of Sudan's oil

production.

Africa is a major producer of important metals and minerals. Metals exported by African countries include uranium,

used to produce nuclear energy; platinum, used in jewelry and industrial applications; nickel, used in stainless

steel, magnets, coins, and rechargeable batteries; bauxite, a main aluminum ore; and cobalt, used in color

pigments.

Ethiopia produces large volumes of coffee beans every year, with 397,500,000 kilograms in 2014 alone. Ethiopia is

the geographic home of Arabica coffee, the most popular beans worldwide. I.While Uganda may not come to mind

when you think of coffee production, at 240,000,000 kilograms produced in 2014, it is the Central African nation's top-earning export.

African's Great Lakes support the largest inland fisheries on the continent. Lake Victoria is the most productive

freshwater fishery in the world, producing more than 500,000 tons of fish worth $600 million every year. The Nile

perch, a highly prized catch that can weigh more than 45 kilograms (100 pounds), and the Nile tilapia are Lake’s Victoria’s dominant commercial fish species.