The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake has called on African countries to take full control of their mineral resources through local value addition, regional cooperation and data sovereignty to unlock sustainable economic growth across the Continent.
The Minister made the call at the Ministerial Forum on Critical Minerals, Value Chain, and Beneficiation organised by the African Development Bank in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Addressing Ministers from more than 20 mineral-producing African countries, Alake says Africa must move beyond exporting raw minerals and focus on processing its mineral resources locally to create jobs, industrialise its economies and retain more value from its natural wealth as he adds that African countries would derive greater benefits by working together rather than pursuing isolated national strategies.
Alake who is the pioneering Chairman of the Africa Mineral Strategy group wants Africa to take ownership of the systems used to evaluate and report its mineral resources, adopt the Pan African Resource Reporting Code developed by the Africa Minerals Development Centre, instead of relying solely on the Australia-based Joint Ore Reserves Committee reporting standard.
He proposed the establishment of a West African minerals processing corridor stretching from Lagos to Dakar to enable countries to share infrastructure, reduce costs, promote value addition, and strengthen regional trade.
In his remarks, President of the African Development Bank,Sidi Ould Tah stresses the need for African countries to transform their natural resources into engines of industrial growth and job creation through stronger partnerships and increased investment in mineral value chains.
Tah reaffirms the Bank’s commitment to supporting African countries with financing, technical expertise, and investment mobilisation to accelerate mineral beneficiation and industrial development.
The meeting ended with the adoption of the Abidjan Declaration, which commits African countries to deepen cooperation on critical minerals development, promote regional value chains, strengthen infrastructure, and improve access to financing for strategic mining projects.
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Editor: Ebuwa Omo-Osagie
