AFRICA, Nov. 26 -- A CENTURY after European empires carved up the continent in the infamous Scramble for Africa, a new geopolitical contest is unfolding—this time global in scope, but once again rooted in Africas strategic minerals.

From the cobalt fields of the Democratic Republic of Congo to Tanzanias emerging rare earth and graphite corridors, global powers are repositioning themselves in a race that African analysts warn mirrors the coercive tactics of an earlier era.

The tools have changed—diplomacy, security cooperation, financial leverage—but the strategic intent, they say, feels strikingly familiar.

In the DRC, cobalt, coltan and rare earths have done little to uplift the population that sits atop them. Instea...