Nigeria is calling for a major shift in Africa’s approach to mineral resources, urging countries to move beyond exporting raw materials and develop processing and value-addition industries across the continent.
Dele Alake, Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development and chairman of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG), said Africa’s growing importance in the global critical minerals market should translate into industrial development, jobs and stronger regional economies.
Alake made the remarks at the third AMSG High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development, held on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York. Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima chaired the meeting, which brought together African mining ministers and industry stakeholders.
Alake said Nigeria would not simply extract and export its mineral resources without developing the capacity to process them domestically.
The position reflects a broader effort by African governments to capture more of the economic value generated by minerals used in electric vehicles, batteries, renewable energy systems and advanced technologies.
Building Regional Processing Capacity
Alake called for greater cooperation between African countries to develop joint processing initiatives and investments along mineral corridors.
He signed the Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration (CIEAD), which he said would help provide greater political certainty for bilateral and multilateral projects, support predictable infrastructure investment and facilitate continental processing initiatives.
The minister argued that regional cooperation would be important because individual African countries may not always have the resources, infrastructure or market size required to develop competitive processing industries independently.
Vice President Shettima also urged AMSG to use strategic partnerships with foreign governments and companies to accelerate industrial development while ensuring that African countries protect their economic interests.
He said the continent’s mineral wealth should contribute to modernising African economies and improving living standards rather than primarily supplying raw materials to industries outside the continent.
Formalising Artisanal Mining
The discussions also focused on safety and the formalisation of artisanal and small-scale mining.
Alake proposed establishing a Mine Emergency and Community Recovery Fund to respond to the human and economic consequences of mine collapses and other mining disasters across Africa.
He cited recent incidents in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic, as well as deaths involving detained illegal mining suspects in Nigeria, as examples of the need for a coordinated continental response.
Alake called for a dedicated African safety facility to improve standards in artisanal mining and expand cooperative structures across member states.
Rather than relying primarily on criminalisation, he said governments should work towards formalising artisanal and small-scale mining, which provides livelihoods for millions of people and contributes to mineral supply chains.
The minister said formalisation could help improve geological guidance, safety systems, emergency response and working conditions while bringing more mining activity into regulated economic structures.
Critical Minerals and Africa’s Industrial Future
Africa holds significant resources of minerals that are increasingly important to global energy and technology supply chains. However, much of the continent’s mineral production continues to leave Africa with limited processing and downstream manufacturing.
Samaila Zubairu, chief executive of the Africa Finance Corporation, supported the AMSG’s push for faster industrialisation, saying Africa could not afford to delay economic transformation as its population continues to grow.
He called for coordinated regional action, arguing that African countries would struggle to address the continent’s structural challenges if they continue to operate independently.
The AMSG roundtable brought together regional organisations, development finance institutions and mining companies to discuss how Africa can develop its critical minerals sector while retaining a larger share of the economic benefits.
The push for local processing comes as governments across the continent increasingly focus on mineral corridors, infrastructure, investment partnerships and downstream industries as they seek to turn Africa’s mineral wealth into broader industrial and economic development.
Source: BusinessDay