How the World Bank Group is now turning mineral wealth into jobs and growth

By Valérie Levkov

The global race for minerals and metals is accelerating.

As urbanization, agriculture, digitalization, and energy needs intensify worldwide, demand for these minerals could double by the year 2040. 

For resource-rich developing countries, this is a major opportunity — not only to supply global markets, but also to create jobs, build industries, and strengthen economic resilience at home. 

Realizing the opportunity requires getting three fundamentals right: strong policies and governance, foundational infrastructure, and private sector investment.

The World Bank Group’s approach to metals and minerals brings these elements together so that resource wealth delivers broad-based, lasting benefits. Here are five ways that approach is helping countries turn mineral wealth into jobs and growth.

Focus on people and jobs.

Large mining projects can create far more than exports. When designed well, they can build skills, strengthen local suppliers, and support livelihoods across the wider economy.

In Argentina, the IFC-supported Rincon Lithium Project shows how new investments can create opportunities from the start. During peak construction, the project is expected to employ 4,200 workers, with at least 70 percent hired locally under by Argentine law.

Oyu Tolgoi in Mongolia, supported by the World Bank Group, shows what sustained impact looks like over time.

The mine employs around 20,000 people, 97 percent of whom are Mongolian.

In 2025, the mine sourced 87 percent of its goods and services from 770 Mongolian companies, helping strengthen local businesses and national supply chains.

It has also invested in training, scholarships, graduate development, and community programs that help build skills and expand opportunities over time.

The benefits extend beyond the mine gate.

Oyu Tolgoi’s copper production increased by 60 percent in 2025, helping the country’s economy grow by 6.9 percent.

Since 2010, the project has contributed around US$4 billion in taxes, fees, and other payments to Mongolia’s budget.

Those revenues can help finance roads, schools, and services, extending the benefits of mining beyond the mine site.

This is the kind of model the World Bank Group supports: mining that creates jobs today, builds domestic supply chains, contributes public revenue, and helps strengthen economies for the future.

Providing support beyond the mine.

Mining can do more than generate exports. It can also support larger industries.

When countries invest in processing, manufacturing, and local supply chains, they create more jobs and generate more value for local communities.

In Mauritania, the World Bank supported DREAM project builds on the country’s mineral base and strong renewable energy potential to support new industries such as green hydrogen and battery storage.

The project supports regulatory reforms, energy storage investments, and workforce and institutional capacity development.

Mauritania has the potential to become a regional green hydrogen hub, producing up to 12 million tons of this new fuel annually.

As these industries grow, they create new jobs beyond mining, in areas such as energy, logistics, and manufacturing.

Country-led approach

Many of our client countries already have a vision for their minerals sector and are advancing it with targeted support from the World Bank Group.

Country compacts, agreements that help align policy reforms, infrastructure, and investment around country priorities, are an important tool for this work.

At the World Bank Group Spring Meetings in April 2026, four initial country metals and minerals compacts were launched with Bolivia, Malawi, Mauritania, and Zambia. More compacts and partnerships will follow later this year.

Zambia is one of the first countries to launch a mineral compact with the World Bank Group.

The government aims to reach 3 million tons of copper production annually by 2031.

Achieving this will require courting more private capital, investing in infrastructure and skills, and increasing efforts to build local manufacturing to strengthen domestic suppliers.

The WB support to Zambia covers all of this.

As Zambia increases its copper output, it can build surrounding industries, including manufacturing in wires, cables, and transformers, and strengthen local suppliers where much of the job creation can take place.

Actively delivering projects and results.

We plan to quintuple our support to metals and minerals in the next five years. We are already seeing progress:

In Argentina, the World Bank helped mobilize US$1.2 billion for the Rincon Lithium Project, which will produce lithium at scale to support the growing demand for electric vehicles while building local capacity and creating jobs.

In Africa, investments along the Lobito Corridor are helping move minerals to market while also supporting agriculture, trade, and industry.

For communities along these routes, this means better access to markets, services, and new sources of income.

There is also the expansion of access to finance for smaller projects.

The WB co-investment platform with Appian, backed by US$100 million from the World Bank Group, addresses a critical financing gap: access to risk capital for smaller but job-rich projects, aiming to mobilize up to US$1 billion by 2027 for small and medium-sized mining projects.

Through the RISE partnership, nearly 20 countries are supported in identifying investment opportunities across mineral value chains, including opportunities to expand from extraction into processing and manufacturing.

Working with partners to increase impact.

Multilateral development banks are strengthening coordination to partner with countries as they build value across the full value chain, from mining to manufacturing. A recent joint statement outlines how partners can pursue more coordinated and scalable results, including through market support, early-stage financing, and risk-sharing tools.

The bank also works with many donor countries, including G7 members, through our EGPS facility, which promotes better metal and minerals development practices that protect the environment and enable local communities to capture value.

The opportunity ahead

Metals and minerals can power jobs, industries, and long-term growth. With the right policies, investments, and strong partnerships, countries can turn this opportunity into lasting benefits for people and communities.