A study by Beijing-based consultancy Development Reimagined found that 19 Chinese projects in Africa involve processing, refining or manufacturing on the continent rather than extraction alone, with total investment of $16.3 billion.

Total commitments reached $41.2 billion across 32 mining, exploration and development projects in 15 countries up to June this year. The Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea and Zimbabwe have previously introduced mineral export bans or restrictions to encourage domestic processing, according to the report.