Raw materials are essential for the sustainable functioning of modern societies and their industries. The European Commission's Raw Materials Information System (RMIS) is developed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in cooperation with the DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (GROWTH). The RMIS is the Commission’s reference web-based knowledge platform on non-fuel, non-agricultural raw materials from primary and secondary sources. From gold to natural rubber, including cobalt, cooking coal, construction aggregates (sand, gravel...) and many more, it focuses on both abiotic and biotic materials, covering the entire value chain. This map shows the amount (in USD) of the main non-food, non-energy raw material commodities exported by each African country in 2017.

Raw materials are essential for the sustainable functioning of modern societies and their industries. The European Commission's Raw Materials Information System (RMIS) is developed by the Joint Research Centre (JRC) in cooperation with the DG for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (GROWTH). The RMIS is the Commission’s reference web-based knowledge platform on non-fuel, non-agricultural raw materials from primary and secondary sources. From gold to natural rubber, including cobalt, cooking coal, construction aggregates (sand, gravel...) and many more, it focuses on both abiotic and biotic materials, covering the entire value chain. This map shows the amount (in USD) of the main non-food, non-energy raw material commodities imported by each African country in 2017.

This dataset compiles geophysical models detailing the thickness of the Earth's outer layers, ranging from surface sedimentary basins down to the base of the lithosphere. The collection serves a dual purpose: it provides broad, global baseline data for sediment distribution, while also offering high-resolution, integrated regional models specifically focused on the African plate.

Dataset Contents:

I. Global Baselines

• Global Sediment Thickness (Laske & Masters, 2013): The global sediment thickness baseline extracted from the CRUST1.0 model. This provides broad, foundational coverage across both continental and oceanic domains. (Values expressed in km).
• Global Oceanic Sediment Thickness (Straume et al., 2019): A high-resolution, 5-arc-minute grid detailing total sediment thickness specifically for the world's oceans and marginal seas, compiled from extensive new data and previous work. (Values expressed in m).

II. African Regional Models

• Combined Sediment Thickness (Africa): A synthesized, optimized sedimentary thickness map for Africa and its surrounding regions. This layer intelligently merges the Laske & Masters (2013) and Straume et al. (2019) maps, prioritizing the Straume data wherever overlaps occur to maximize resolution. (Values expressed in m).
• Crustal Thickness (Globig et al., 2016): An Africa-specific crustal thickness map derived from the integrated modeling of elevation, geoid data, and rigorous thermal analysis. (Values expressed in km).
• Lithosphere Thickness (Globig et al., 2016): An Africa-specific lithospheric thickness map, complementing the crustal layer, derived using the same integrated elevation, geoid, and thermal modeling approach. (Values expressed in km).

These layers are part of the Geothermal Atlas for Africa developed within the LEAP-RE project