Former Gold Fields CEO Chris Griffith Co-Leads New $1 Billion Private Equity Fund Targeting African Critical Minerals

JOHANNESBURG / ACCRA — Former Gold Fields Chief Executive Officer Chris Griffith has announced that he is co-leading a new private equity venture seeking to raise $1 billion to invest in African critical minerals.

Griffith disclosed the early-stage fundraising effort during an interview on Investec Minds, noting that he shelved retirement plans after being approached by the startup private equity team to help scale the strategy. He is joined in the venture by high-profile mining and finance heavyweights, including former Ashanti Goldfields Chairman Sam Jonah and former Goldman Sachs banker Colin Coleman.

Tapping Africa's Battery Metal and Clean Energy Reserves

The newly formed private equity platform aims to capitalize on surging global demand for transition metals essential for electric vehicles, battery storage systems, defense equipment, and advanced electronics, including copper, lithium, cobalt, graphite, and rare earth elements.

With major economies actively working to diversify supply chains outside of traditional processing hubs, the fund intends to deploy capital into high-potential mining assets across resource-rich regions like the Central African Copperbelt and emerging West and Southern African jurisdictions.

"I was contacted by a private equity team that is starting up. So, I'm part of a private equity team now, seeking to raise a billion dollars to invest in African critical minerals," noted Chris Griffith.

High-Profile Leadership and Capital Deployment

The initiative unites decades of operational, advisory, and financial acumen from across the continent. Sam Jonah—renowned for scaling Ashanti Goldfields and heading Jonah Capital—brings deep regional mining experience, while Colin Coleman provides extensive global investment banking expertise.

Although fundraising remains in its preliminary stages, the leadership team is actively dedicating operational bandwidth to establish the enterprise as a premier investment conduit for institutional capital looking to back African critical minerals.

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