<\/p>\n
The call was made during the Ministerial Forum on Critical Minerals, Value Chains and Beneficiation, organised by the African Development Bank in Abidjan on July 10.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In a statement issued on Thursday, participants urged African countries to develop regional value chains, expand local processing capacity and strengthen manufacturing industries to capture a greater share of the economic value generated by the continent\u2019s mineral wealth.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Africa holds approximately 30% of the world’s critical mineral reserves, including cobalt, lithium, graphite, rare earth elements, platinum group metals, copper, manganese and nickel. These minerals are increasingly in demand as countries accelerate the transition to cleaner energy technologies and electric mobility.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Despite its resource endowment, the continent continues to export most of these minerals in raw or semi-processed form, limiting opportunities for industrial development, technology transfer and employment creation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Participants said this model has historically shifted jobs, manufacturing capacity and technical expertise outside Africa, while leaving producing countries with limited economic benefits from their natural resources.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The forum also highlighted concerns that fragmented national approaches to resource development have weakened Africa\u2019s influence within global mining supply chains.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Delegates argued that greater regional cooperation would strengthen the continent\u2019s bargaining power and enable African countries to establish competitive mineral value chains capable of supporting industrial growth.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The meeting identified several priorities needed to support beneficiation and value addition. These include increased investment in energy generation, transport infrastructure and logistics networks, as well as improved geological mapping and resource data.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Participants also stressed the need for coherent public policies, stable regulatory frameworks and stronger governance of natural resources to attract investment into mineral processing and manufacturing industries.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Held under the theme \u201cMinisterial Forum on Critical Minerals, Value Chains and Beneficiation: Pathways to Transformation for Africa\u201d, the gathering brought together ministers responsible for mining, energy, industry, natural resources and the green economy from across the continent.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Representatives of the African Union Commission, United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, regional development banks, private-sector organisations and technical partners also participated.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Among the senior officials attending were United Nations Economic Commission for Africa Deputy Executive Secretary Hanan Morsy, United States Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs Jeremy Wiggins and Japan’s Deputy Vice Minister for International Affairs Shuichi Hosoda.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Delegates agreed that developing regional mineral value chains presents a significant opportunity to create jobs, particularly for young people and women, while supporting broader industrialisation and economic diversification efforts across the continent.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The forum concluded with a renewed commitment to ensuring Africa’s critical minerals contribute more directly to sustainable development, manufacturing growth and long-term economic prosperity.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–AfDB\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":39770,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-39769","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"African ministers, development institutions and private-sector leaders have called for the continent\u2019s vast critical mineral resources to become a catalyst for industrialisation, economic transformation and job creation rather than continuing to fuel the export of raw materials.","published_date":"","news_description":"African ministers, development institutions and private-sector leaders have called for the continent\u2019s vast critical mineral resources to become a catalyst for industrialisation, economic transformation and job creation rather than continuing to fuel the export of raw materials.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/39769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/39769\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":39771,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/39769\/revisions\/39771"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=39769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}