Critical Minerals: These Investors Standing Out

Critical minerals are increasingly attracting international investors, who are generally specialized mining companies with extensive mining portfolios.

Critical minerals, which have become indispensable to technology-intensive industries and the digital sector, are seeing their demand increase significantly every year.

This sustained upward trajectory, coupled with the surge in commodity prices on international markets, is actually prompting some international mining companies to strengthen their exploration and expansion strategies in countries with high potential, including Morocco.

Over the past twenty years, Chinese, European and North American groups have multiplied their investments, amounting to several million dollars, in order to exploit the critical minerals abundant in the Kingdom’s main mining regions.

That being said, Managem, a subsidiary of the royal holding company Al Mada, has particularly distinguished itself as a local operator in terms of mining investment, thereby contributing to the growth of the national extractive industry.

A Leading Investor

Drawing up a relevant map of the main investors in critical mineral exploitation in Morocco, without dwelling on Managem’s portfolio in this area, would amount to an inherently incomplete exercise.

Indeed, the emblematic Tizert copper project alone, which entered production in 2025, involved a substantial investment of $440 million by the mining company listed on the Casablanca Stock Exchange.

Today, international markets are unquestionably reinforcing Managem’s relevant strategy, with the company recording consolidated revenue of MAD 11.7 billion in the first half of 2026, representing a notable increase of 166%.

Copper, a highly strategic metal for the global electric mobility sector (lithium-ion batteries), saw its price reach an all-time high of $14,800 per tonne in September 2026.

As an indication, it should be noted that production from the Tizert mine (the Kingdom’s first 4.0 smart mine) could peak at 100,000 tonnes this year (silver and copper).

Managem is also expected to make additional investment efforts to equip the Tizert mine with a smelter for the production of copper cathodes in Morocco.

This would be a first at the national level and would enable Al Mada’s subsidiary to capture more value locally.

It should be pointed out that copper processing is essential for attracting high-tech industries, which have a strong demand for pure mining products.

Controlled by the Managem Group, the Bou-Azzer mine, one of the few places in the world where cobalt has been exploited as the primary ore, produced more than 500 tonnes of cathodes in 2025, with a projection of nearly 2,900 tonnes for the current year.

Managem’s investments will soon enable Morocco to establish its first industrial cobalt sulfate production unit.

Located within the Guemassa complex (60 km from Marrakech), the future unit, which will be operational this year, will have a production capacity of nearly 6,000 tonnes of cobalt sulfate.

This value-added product is highly sought after by the electric battery sector, used by the automotive industry and the renewable energy sector.

In clear terms, the main purpose of Managem’s industrial infrastructure (80% of whose cobalt sulfate production will be destined for the Renault Group for seven years) is to add value, through processing, to the metals extracted from the Bou-Azzer mine.

Among Al Mada’s subsidiary’s investment projects for the exploitation of critical minerals in Morocco is the Bouskour mine (Eastern Anti-Atlas), currently under development.

The national copper portfolio is expected to expand over the next three years, thanks to the ramp-up of this copper mine, whose production could peak at around 80,000 tonnes by 2028.

“The Hyperactive Investor”

As recently as August 6, 2026, Canadian group Aya Gold & Silver announced an investment of nearly $10 million for the acquisition of three licenses and 18 exploration permits in Morocco (nickel, cobalt, lead, zinc, gold, silver, copper).

Through investments amounting to millions of dollars, the Canadian company increased the total area of its portfolio of permits in Morocco to 991 km² in 2026.

Better still, in terms of investment, Aya Gold & Silver plans to invest nearly $60 million in 2026 to explore its gold and silver projects at Zgounder and Boumadine.

As a reminder, in 2025, the Zgounder mine produced more than 4.8 million ounces of silver.

Given its growth potential, an average of 6 million ounces is expected annually until 2036.

The $60 million investment plan is all the more justified as silver prices have risen sharply, reaching around just over $63 per ounce.

This represents a doubling of the value of this precious metal compared with the usual price per ounce ($30). Gold, whose prices are volatile, has also risen steadily, currently fluctuating between $4,200 and $4,300 per ounce.

For its part, the emblematic Boumadine mining project, which will ultimately require an investment effort of more than $165 million from the Canadian group, comprises several implementation phases.

Intended for the production of gold and silver concentrates (with a long-term production target of 5 million ounces of silver), the Boumadine polymetallic mine, which is expected to be operational by 2030, will also be equipped with a processing unit with a capacity of nearly 3 million tonnes per year.

Clearly, given the great potential of the Boumadine mining project, additional investments will be necessary to build a smelter, a crucial infrastructure for boosting the value and production of precious metals in Morocco.

Tin: Consolidation of the “Chinese Presence”

Chinese group Xingye Silver and Tin is among the investors and mining companies that matter nationally in tin exploration, a critical and strategic mineral essential to modern electronics and the energy transition.

The entity from the Middle Kingdom is behind the Achmmach mine project, whose tin resources are estimated at around 39 million tonnes.

As a reminder, in the first quarter of 2026, the Chinese mining group, specialized in the exploration of critical metals (tin, silver, copper), raised $200 million on international financial markets, part of which will be used to develop the Achmmach project, located 40 km from Meknes.

Fully controlled by Xingye Silver and Tin since 2025, the Achmmach mine is among the largest tin mines in the world.

This highly strategic project was, until July 2026, in the construction preparation phase.

It is worth noting that tin prices have surged on international markets, driven by increased demand from the electronics (soldering) and digital (data centers, 5G, etc.) industries, currently reaching more than $54,000 per tonne.

Ultimately, critical mineral mines may be capital-intensive in terms of investment, but for the mining groups investing in them, the game is apparently worth the candle.

This is particularly due to the explosion in demand for these minerals, driven, among other things, by the digital sector, advanced industries and renewable energies.