Dele Alake, Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, has said Africa must build the capacity to process its critical minerals locally instead of exporting raw materials and importing finished products,
Alake, who is also chairperson of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) Ministerial Steering Committee, said Africa’s mineral resources should be used to support industrialisation and create more economic value on the continent.
“Africa’s critical minerals are no longer simply a geological opportunity; they are a strategic economic opportunity,” Alake said.
He said recent measures by countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Zimbabwe show that African governments are seeking to retain more value from their mineral resources.
However, Alake said restricting mineral exports should not be the end goal.
“The destination is continental integration, value addition and industrialisation,” he said.
His comments come ahead of the Third AMSG High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development in Africa, scheduled for September 21, 2026, in New York on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
The meeting will bring together African ministers, investors, development finance institutions and companies in mining, technology, processing, logistics and mineral traceability.
The Africa Finance Corporation is among the institutions expected to participate.
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AMSG said the meeting will focus on investment opportunities, financing and policies that can help African countries process more minerals locally and build industries around them.
Africa has large deposits of lithium, copper, cobalt, graphite, manganese and rare earth elements. These minerals are used to make products such as electric vehicles, batteries, renewable energy equipment and electronics.
But much of Africa’s mineral production is exported with limited processing taking place within the continent.
This means African countries often earn revenue from mining but miss out on much of the additional value created when minerals are processed and turned into finished or semi-finished products.
AMSG wants African countries to change this model by investing in processing facilities, infrastructure, technology and manufacturing.
The group is also calling for greater cooperation among African countries. This could include shared processing facilities, transport and energy infrastructure, coordinated policies and financing arrangements.
The New York meeting is expected to advance this agenda through the proposed Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration (CIEAD).
The declaration is intended to provide a framework for African countries to cooperate on mineral processing, investment, infrastructure, supply chains and negotiations with global partners.
A proposed CIEAD Finance Window will also seek to mobilise funding for mineral processing, infrastructure, technology and other projects linked to critical minerals.
The initiative builds on the Mutual Assured Development (MADE) Framework launched at the African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS) 2026 in Abuja.
Recent actions by African countries show growing interest in local processing.
The DRC has suspended exports of copper and cobalt concentrates as it seeks to encourage domestic processing. Zimbabwe also suspended exports of raw minerals and lithium concentrates in February 2026, while Namibia and Tanzania have introduced measures aimed at increasing local processing.
Nigeria has similarly been pushing to reduce the export of minerals directly from mines without sufficient local value addition.
For Africa, the growing global demand for critical minerals presents both an opportunity and a challenge.
Major economies are competing for supplies of minerals needed for electric vehicles, renewable energy, technology and defence.
Alake’s argument is that Africa should use this demand to build processing and manufacturing industries rather than remain mainly a supplier of raw materials.
The challenge now is to turn the continent’s mineral resources into investment, factories, jobs and industries that keep a larger share of the value within Africa.
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