The critical minerals story in Africa is typically told through the lens of geology, geopolitics, and finance. Rarely does anyone talk about the unglamorous reality that sits between the mine and the market: the roads, the trucks, the borders, and the sheer logistical challenge of moving product across some of the world's most difficult operating environments.

Clementine James knows that reality better than almost anyone. As a director and owner of Alistair Group, one of Africa's premier logistics operators, she has spent her career moving freight across corridors that would humble most Western supply chain professionals. That she has done soas an American woman in one of the most male-dominated industries on earth makes her story all the more remarkable.

Here is a number that puts the challenge in stark relief: a round trip between Dar es Salaam and Kolwezi takes her trucks two months to complete. Two months. In that single data point lives the entire story of what it actually takes to bring critical minerals to market. Clementine is also one of the clearest voices supporting development of the Lobito Corridor but also calling out the gap between the political hype around the initiative and the commercial framework that will determine whether it actually delivers.

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Books mentioned on the podcast –

The Bang, Bang Club by Greg Marinovich and Joao Silva

The Correspondentby Virginia Evans