ABSTRACT
The output of minerals from Africa is now prodigious in quantity and value and manifold in character. Minerals have played a notable role in the history of the continent, particularly in influencing exploration and shaping economic development. Long before Europeans came to Africa the gold of Ethiopia was known to seafarers of the Indian Ocean, and old workings and diggings, for example in Rhodesia, have been valuable guides to modern prospectors. Economic development, whether by agriculture, mining or industry, demands increasing quantities of energy. Most African states today, among the poorest in the world, are vitally concerned with the provision of energy in one form or another to further economic development and raise living standards. The relatively slow economic development of so much of Africa has been largely the outcome of difficulty of movement and transport. The rivers of Africa have not proved very suitable as large-scale media of transport.
