Connecting Capital with Africa's Critical Mineral Opportunities
Walnut Creek Advisors is a specialist advisory firm focused on sub-Saharan Africa's mining and natural resources sector. We work with a select group of clients — primarily single family offices — to identify, evaluate, and facilitate investment in mining projects, with a particular focus on critical and battery minerals.
Our work is grounded in deep technical expertise and long-standing relationships across the region.
About
Walnut Creek Advisors (WCA) is a Lisbon-based advisory firm with deep roots in sub-Saharan Africa's mining and resources sector. Our team brings over 15 years of hands-on experience in engineering, project management, and investment advisory across the oil and gas and mining industries.
We specialize in bridging the gap between capital and opportunity — working at the intersection of technical due diligence, market knowledge, and investor relationships to help transactions move from concept to close.
WCA operates as a small, focused practice. We engage a network of specialist consultants on a project basis, ensuring our clients benefit from the right expertise at every stage of an engagement.
Services
WCA offers a focused range of advisory and research services for clients active in, or considering exposure to, sub-Saharan Africa's mining sector.
We connect capital with projects, sourcing and structuring introductions between investors and mining ventures at various stages of development. Our particular focus is critical and battery minerals, where we have established project relationships and technical familiarity.
Drawing on an engineering background and extensive on-the-ground experience, we provide technical context and project-level assessments to complement financial due diligence. This includes evaluating project stage, management capability, permitting status, and development pathway.
We provide clients with targeted research on the sub-Saharan African mining landscape, including commodity-specific opportunity analysis, regulatory environments, and country-level risk assessment.
Through a partnership with a specialist geospatial data firm, we offer analytics services tailored to the mining sector — supporting early-stage exploration, land position analysis, and, where relevant, monitoring and compliance applications including the detection of artisanal and illegal mining activity.
How We Work
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Step 1
Project Sourcing & Initial Review
We identify and conduct an initial review of mining projects across sub-Saharan Africa, drawing on our regional network and technical knowledge. We focus on stage-appropriate opportunities where investor capital can have meaningful impact — particularly at the pre-feasibility and exploration stages.
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Step 2
Technical Assessment
We apply an engineering-informed lens to project evaluation, assessing geology, infrastructure, permitting, and development plans. Where specialist expertise is required, we engage our network of technical consultants.
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Step 3
Investor Matching
We work with a defined group of investors — primarily single family offices — whose mandates align with the risk/return profile of early-stage African mining projects. We facilitate introductions and support the progression of discussions between project operators and capital.
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Step 4
Transaction Support
We support clients through the process of structuring and closing transactions, coordinating with legal, financial, and technical advisors as needed. Our role is to provide continuity and clarity throughout a process that can involve multiple jurisdictions and stakeholders.
Selected Engagements
The following represents a selection of recent mandates.
In keeping with our commitment to client confidentiality, details are intentionally limited.
Southern Africa — Gold Project, Mine Restart
Advised on the financing process for a gold project being restarted from care-and-maintenance status. Supported the client through pre-feasibility stage financing, facilitating introductions to investors with appetite for early-stage precious metals exposure in the region.
Southern Africa — Lithium Project, Pre-Feasibility Stage
Connected project principals with family office investors at the pre-feasibility stage of a lithium project. Provided context on the regional operating environment and supported the early-stage investor engagement process.
Mining Sector — Geospatial Intelligence Initiative
Working with a geospatial data analytics firm to develop and commercialize applications specific to the mining sector. Current workstreams include early-stage exploration support and, separately, analytics tools to assist governments in identifying and monitoring illegal artisanal mining activity.