Odimmegwa Johnpeter/Abuja
Federal Government of Nigeria and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have agreed to deepen collaboration to ensure African countries derive greater economic value from the continent’s vast mineral resources through local value addition, strategic financing, regional cooperation and stronger control of mineral data.
The commitment was made at the Ministerial Forum on Critical Minerals, Value Chain and Beneficiation: Pathways for African Transformation, where ministers from more than 20 African countries adopted the Abidjan Declaration, a framework aimed at accelerating mineral beneficiation, infrastructure development and investment across the continent.
The position was contained in a statement signed by Lara Owoeye-Wise, Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, on Sunday.
Speaking at the forum, Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, urged African mineral-producing countries to abandon isolated national approaches and embrace regional partnerships capable of unlocking greater value from the continent’s mineral wealth.
Alake said Africa must move beyond exporting raw minerals and adopt practical measures that would guarantee greater ownership and control of its natural resources.
“While the mantra of value addition has ushered in an era of economic independence for mineral-producing nations, we need concrete actionable strategies to take charge and be in full control of our natural assets to ensure total economic freedom,” he said.
The minister, who chairs the Africa Mineral Strategy Group (AMSG), said Nigeria had continued to champion a common continental approach to mineral development, adding that more than 30 member countries of the group were working towards repositioning Africa’s mining sector around value addition.
He also called for Africa to take control of the technical standards used to assess its mineral deposits, describing the long-standing reliance on Australia’s Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) reporting code as outdated.
“For the overall interest of the continent, and to efficiently and effectively safeguard its resources, Africa should take charge of the coding mechanisms utilised to assess its mineral assets,” Alake said.
He advocated the adoption of the Pan African Resource Reporting Code (PARC), developed by the Africa Minerals Development Centre (AMDC), saying the framework would promote transparency, consistency and ethical reporting while reflecting Africa’s unique geological and environmental realities.
Alake further proposed the establishment of a West African minerals processing hub stretching from Lagos to Dakar, modelled after the Lobito Corridor, to enable countries to specialise in processing specific minerals, reduce investment costs and share infrastructure, risks and rewards.
He noted that intra-African trade remained low at about 16 per cent compared to roughly 60 per cent in Asia and 70 per cent in Europe, stressing that stronger regional integration was essential for Africa to maximise its mineral potential.
In his welcome address, AfDB President Dr Sidi Ould Tah described Africa’s vast mineral wealth as a paradox, noting that despite possessing significant deposits of critical minerals, the continent had yet to translate those resources into comparable economic growth.
He also lamented the low level of Foreign Direct Investment flowing into Africa, saying inadequate financing remained one of the biggest obstacles to transforming the continent’s mineral sector.
The forum resolved that African countries should pursue coordinated policies on critical minerals, develop regional infrastructure corridors and strengthen value chains through increased capital mobilisation.
Under the Abidjan Declaration, the African Development Bank committed to deploying its financial instruments, capital mobilisation capacity and technical expertise to support mineral-producing countries, reduce investment risks, finance critical infrastructure and attract greater public and private investment into Africa’s mining sector.
The declaration also urged African governments to build national and regional capacities capable of developing bankable projects, creating sustainable jobs and ensuring that the continent’s mineral resources drive broad-based economic transformation.
The meeting brought together ministers responsible for mining, energy, industry, natural resources and the green economy, alongside representatives of AfDB, Afreximbank, the US Export-Import Bank and mining companies from Germany, Canada and the United States.
At the end of the forum, participants reaffirmed their commitment to greater African control of mineral resources as a pathway to sustainable economic development.
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