The latest Fraser Institute Survey of Mining Companies indicates that several African nations, including Niger, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Senegal, rank among the lowest in terms of investment attractiveness for mining exploration.

Africa is, unfortunately, the region with the most jurisdictions at the bottom of the overall Investment Attractiveness Index.
The survey gathered input from 293 respondents worldwide between August of last year and January of this year, evaluating how mineral resources and public policy factors, such as taxation and regulatory uncertainty, influence exploration investment.
The survey results are categorized according to the Best Practices Mineral Potential Index, which assesses the geological attractiveness of a region, and the Policy Perception Index, which measures the impact of government policy and attitude towards exploration investment.
Together, these indices form the overall Investment Attractiveness Index, with mineral potential accounting for 60% and policy perception the remaining 40%.
Fifty-nine percent of respondents in the latest survey are either company presidents or vice presidents, and 23% are managers or senior managers. The companies that participated reported exploration spending of $4.1 billion in 2023.
The top-ranked African countries according to the Investment Attractiveness Index were Botswana, with a score of 76.87 (down from 82.75 last year), ranking fifteenth out of 86 jurisdictions; Morocco, with a score of 69.61 (down from 74.13 last year), ranking twenty-seventh; and Zambia, with a score of 64.23 (up from 41.18 last year), ranking thirty-fourth.
Notably, Botswana had ranked tenth out of 62 jurisdictions last year.
South Africa’s score fell further, from 44.76 last year to 41.84 this year, placing it sixty-second out of 86 jurisdictions, while Namibia’s score decreased from 59.88 last year to 56.43 this year, ranking forty-second.
Other African countries, such as Mozambique, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), and Tanzania, also scored lower this year. Mozambique scored 31.90 compared to 34.96 last year, ranking eighty-second out of 86 jurisdictions. Zimbabwe’s score fell from 34.29 last year to 33.43 this year, placing it eighty-first. The DRC’s score decreased from 48.52 last year to 42.97 this year, ranking sixty-first. Tanzania’s score went from 52.90 last year to 46.38 this year, ranking fifty-third.
Angola’s score improved from 37.14 last year to 52.54 this year, ranking it forty-seventh out of 68 jurisdictions.
Burkina Faso’s score significantly dropped from 64.61 last year to 38.95 this year, ranking sixty-fifth out of 86 jurisdictions. Mali’s score also decreased from 57.42 last year to 38.04 this year, ranking seventieth.
Niger is rated as the least favorable jurisdiction for exploration investment, scoring 14.1 on the Investment Attractiveness Index and ranking eighty-sixth.
Regarding the Policy Perception Index, Botswana still scores well at 92.17, though down from 97.79 last year. Morocco also fares well with a score of 86.53, up from 80.32 last year.
South Africa saw an improvement in this index, from 29.65 last year to 40.59 this year.
In the Best Practices Mineral Potential Index, Zambia scored the highest at 68.75, up from 43.75 last year, followed by Botswana at 66.67, down from 72.73 last year.
South Africa’s score in this index decreased from 54.84 last year to 42.68 this year.
Niger scored very low, with 15.09 for policy perception and 14.29 for mineral potential.
As a region, Africa’s median score for investment attractiveness dropped by nine points in the latest survey to 44.88.
The Fraser Institute notes that investors are increasingly concerned about uncertainty over environmental regulations, protected areas, and labor regulations in Africa.
Globally, the US, Australia, and Canada remain the most attractive regions for exploration investment, in that order.