The SMM Africa Critical Minerals Conference 2026 (ACM2026), hosted by Shanghai Metals Market (SMM), wrapped up with great success in Lusaka, Zambia on September 15‑16. Focusing on the development of strategic minerals such as copper, cobalt, lithium, and tin in Africa, local deep-processing transformation, green mine construction and energy infrastructure upgrading, this premium event has brought together 400+ industry representatives from Chinese and African government agencies, top miners, commodity traders, investors, and technical service providers to jointly explore high-quality development paths for Africa's critical minerals industry chain.
Huawei presented its mine microgrid solution at this conference. Joseph Yao, President of Mining Micro-Grid Business at Huawei Digital Power, delivered a keynote speech titled "Eco‑Partnerships for Green African Mines: Huawei's Mine Microgrid Practices under the IPP‑PPA Model". Huawei's team also held business talks with ZESCO, Zambia's national power utility, covering mine energy supply, new‑energy deployment and collaborative power‑infrastructure build‑out.
As the global energy transition continues to advance, the new energy industry is steadily boosting demand for critical minerals such as copper and cobalt. Africa is rich in strategic mineral resources and is accelerating its upgrade from exporting mineral raw materials to a high-value-added industry chain encompassing local smelting and deep processing. Mines, as power-intensive sites, require stable and low-cost green power supply, which has become a core factor constraining the implementation of mining projects and the release of capacity in Africa. Leveraging the IPP-PPA (independent power producer investment + long-term power purchase agreement) cooperation model, distributed new energy microgrids can provide reliable power nearby for open-pit mines and smelter sites, helping mines reduce electricity costs and carbon emissions, and supporting the implementation of Zambia's strategy for local copper ore processing.
(Joseph Yao, President of Mining Micro-Grid Business at Huawei Digital Power)
Joseph Yao shared an overview of Huawei and its Digital Energy business, introducing Huawei as a leading provider of ICT infrastructure and smart terminals, a technology-driven enterprise with operations across many countries worldwide, focusing on core business segments such as smart PV and grid-forming ESS.
He noted that Africa's mining sector is generally plagued by power shortages. High diesel costs erode mine profit margins, unstable power supplies risk production disruptions, while ESG requirements also impose constraints on mineral exports. He proposed a three-step path for the sustainable development of African mining:
- Firstly, supply green electricity to mines through digital energy infrastructure to reduce carbon emissions;
- Secondly, electrification transition of mining equipment;
- Thirdly, reshape production processes through AI platforms and intelligent management systems, optimize equipment scheduling, and improve mine capacity and production efficiency.
He also highlighted Huawei's mine microgrid system. Rather than a standalone piece of equipment, it is a complete energy solution integrating photovoltaic‑storage systems, intelligent dispatching, diesel backup power supplies, control systems and management software. It breaks the conventional single‑power‑source model to enable energy self‑sufficiency and efficient energy management at mining sites.
Citing the large‑scale microgrid project for Saudi Arabia's Red Sea Global as a case study, he explained that this city‑level microgrid achieved major technical breakthroughs underpinned by Huawei's robust in‑house R&D capabilities and power‑simulation laboratories. Huawei possesses independent R&D capacity for core power‑electronic components such as IGBTs, and delivers one‑stop services covering design, simulation and project delivery. Together with ecosystem partners, it also provides full‑lifecycle engineering consultation and on‑site implementation support. The successful delivery of this project has laid a solid foundation for microgrid deployment in mining scenarios.
Yao Jiang specifically addressed the widespread funding pain points confronting African mining projects. Under the IPP‑PPA ecosystem model, domestic and international investors can be brought in to finance mine‑energy projects. Mining companies, as power purchasers, sign long‑term power‑purchase agreements to secure stable mine operations, while investors obtain steady returns, forming a sustainable commercial closed‑loop.In his speech, Yao Jiang cited several African mine microgrid implementation cases. Among them, after the completion of the Kamoa-Kakula mining microgrid project in the DRC, green electricity will replace a large amount of diesel power generation, significantly reducing mine electricity costs and carbon emissions, and delivering a good return on investment. For a Chinese-funded miner's copper mine project in the DRC, microgrid upgrades sharply reduced electricity costs and significantly improved the mine's capacity utilization rate, verifying the practical value of green electricity microgrids in African mine scenarios.
Yao Jiang summarized Huawei's three core capabilities: a globalized business platform, end-to-end one-stop microgrid solutions, and a diverse ecosystem partner system that includes investors, EPCs, and design consulting agencies. He said he looks forward to joining forces with more investors to carry out energy project investments in Zambia and Africa, ensuring power supply for critical mineral industries such as copper and lithium, working together to build green mines in Africa, and jointly creating a low-carbon, sustainable industrial future.
During the conference, the Huawei delegation held a business meeting with the Zambia National Power Corporation (ZESCO) team. Against the backdrop of accelerating green transformation in African mining and continuously growing power demand in mining areas, the two sides exchanged views on topics of common concern such as power infrastructure construction and new energy support, and expressed their intention to maintain communication and jointly explore potential areas for cooperation.
Africa's mineral industry is at a critical window for industry chain upgrading. Huawei will continue to leverage its technological expertise in new energy and intelligent power, join forces with IPP investors, local power institutions, and mining partners to build an open cooperation ecosystem, and rely on mature mine microgrid solutions to provide green and reliable power supply for African mining and smelting projects, helping Africa's critical minerals industry achieve low-carbon transformation and deepening practical cooperation between China and Africa in the mining and energy sectors.
》Click to view SMM 2026 Africa Critical Minerals Conference special report
![Copper Prices See Limited Pullback; Secondary Copper Rod Enterprises Remain on the Sidelines [SMM Secondary Copper Daily Review]](https://imgqn.smm.cn/usercenter/CaDcj20251217171711.jpg)
