• Sonangol to expand into uranium and lithium
• Company posted over $750 million 2025 profit
• Angola targets $2 billion non-diamond mining investment

Angola’s national oil company Sonangol plans to step up its diversification into critical minerals, including uranium and lithium, as it seeks to expand beyond oil and gas.

Chief Executive Sebastião Gaspar Martins said the company already holds several exploration concessions in those segments, marking a shift for a group historically focused on hydrocarbons.

The move comes as Sonangol reported net profit of more than $750 million in 2025. Production held at about 217,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, underscoring that oil remains central to its business model.

By moving into minerals used in energy and industrial technologies, the state-owned group is positioning itself for structural changes in global markets, where demand for critical resources continues to rise.

“It will be very useful for us to also have a participation and a presence in the development of these minerals,” Martins told Reuters.

In line with Angola’s extractive strategy

Beyond corporate strategy, the shift reflects a broader government drive to turn the extractive sector into a driver of economic diversification.

Long reliant on oil and diamonds, Angola is reforming its mining sector to develop other mineral resources and attract foreign investment. Authorities have introduced new governance tools and modernised the regulatory framework, including a digital mining registry.

The push into critical minerals is backed by significant geological potential. Angola has identified deposits of lithium, copper, quartz, cobalt, manganese, uranium, iron ore and rare earths, alongside diamonds, which remain the country’s most established mining industry.

Several of these minerals are central to energy transition supply chains. Lithium and cobalt are key to electric vehicle batteries, while copper is essential for power grids and renewable energy infrastructure. Uranium plays a strategic role in low-carbon energy strategies in several economies.

The strategy also unfolds against intensifying global competition for access to critical minerals, as countries seek to secure supply chains and retain more value domestically.

For Luanda, the objective goes beyond sectoral diversification. Authorities aim to prepare for a post-oil era by leveraging mining potential while repositioning Sonangol as a key vehicle in the restructuring of the extractive sector.

In 2022, mining accounted for 1.3% of Angola’s GDP. The government aims to raise that share to 1.6% by 2027 and attract $2 billion in cumulative investment in the non-diamond mining sector by then.

Moutiou Adjibi Nourou