The Federal Government has called for a unified continental strategy to stop the historic exploitation of Africa’s critical mineral resources and end the export of raw materials without value addition.
The call was made at the Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development in Africa, held on the sidelines of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
The roundtable was convened by Vice President Kashim Shettima and the Chairman of AMSG and Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake. The theme of the dialogue was “From Resources to Wealth: Continental Cooperation for Mineral Value Addition, Data Sovereignty, Innovative Financing and Critical Minerals Security.”
In his address, Shettima said Africa cannot claim to be wealthy while its people live in poverty and its mines enrich other parts of the world. He noted that mineral-rich communities across the continent still lack basic infrastructure, jobs and equity in their own wealth, even as global demand for clean energy, artificial intelligence and advanced manufacturing has made Africa’s cobalt, copper, lithium and rare earth elements indispensable to global supply chains.
According to him, the solution lies in processing, refining, battery production, component manufacturing and the development of African technology and skills. He said the value of a mine must be measured by the lives it improves.
Shettima warned that no African country can achieve this transformation alone. He said competing through lower royalties, weak local content requirements and excessive concessions will only weaken the continent’s collective bargaining power.
He outlined Nigeria’s approach, which includes mandatory local value addition for new mining licences, improved geological data and investor access, organisation of artisanal miners into cooperatives, a crackdown on illegal mining and stronger regulatory accountability.
He urged African nations to build partnerships based on mutual benefit, shared responsibility, sovereign equality and respect for national priorities, supported by fair market access, industrial investment and technology transfer that builds African capacity.
On the Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration adopted and signed at the roundtable, Shettima said the framework is expected to create a predictable and investment-ready environment for Africa’s Strategic Mineral Corridors through harmonised policies, responsible investment and shared infrastructure. He added that Africa’s real power lies in its people, its markets and its ingenuity.
In his remarks, Alake said the group is proposing the Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration (CIEAD) as a landmark framework to establish a unified architecture for Africa’s critical and solid minerals value chains.
The declaration is expected to promote value addition, data sovereignty and improved financing for mineral development across the continent.