Paris Arbitration Week 2026 – Mining in Africa and the reconfiguration of investment arbitration

The Paris Arbitration Week 2026 confirmed,  more clearly than in previous years, that mining in Africa has moved to the forefront of  today’s debates in investment arbitration. What could previously be treated as a sectoral issue now appears as a convergence point for several structural dynamics: the global race for critical minerals, the reassertion of state sovereignty by African states,  the growing pressure to align investment protection with environmental and social considerations, and the growing pressure to ensure a more equitable distribution of economic benefits among stakeholders.

This prominence was reflected in a significant number of well-attended panels addressing, directly or indirectly, extractive industries across the African continent. Among them, discussions organised by the African Academy of International Law Practice on mining, energy and infrastructure projects provided a particularly clear illustration of the issues currently shaping the field.

Several other panels — including Disputes in Africa’s Extractive Industries: Smart Mechanisms Beyond Arbitration (Hogan Lovells), The Green Minerals Race & Strategic Resource Nationalism (Gide Loyrette Nouel), and Arbitrating Power and Ore (Compass Lexecon) further underscored a broader shift: the sector is no longer viewed as a source of isolated disputes, but rather as a systemic environment undergoing profound transformation.