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Nigeria, AfDB Seek Greater Control Of Africa’s Minerals

by admin on | 2026-07-27 12:54:52

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Nigeria, AfDB Seek Greater Control Of Africa’s Minerals

By Ahmad Sirajo Makama, Abuja

Nigeria and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have advocated stronger African ownership and control of the continent’s vast mineral resources, urging countries to prioritise local value addition, data sovereignty, regional integration and strategic financing to unlock the sector’s full economic potential.

The call was made at the Ministerial Forum on Critical Minerals, Value Chain and Beneficiation held in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, where Nigeria's Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, challenged African nations to move beyond the export of raw minerals and embrace a value-driven, industrialised mining sector capable of creating jobs, attracting investment and accelerating economic transformation.

Speaking at the forum, Alake said Africa's abundant mineral resources would deliver greater prosperity if countries adopted a coordinated continental strategy rather than pursuing isolated national agendas.

"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," the minister stated.

As Chairman of the Africa Mineral Strategy Group (AMSG), Alake also advocated greater African ownership of the systems used to evaluate the continent's mineral resources.

He called for the adoption of the Pan African Resource Reporting Code (PARC), developed by the Africa Minerals Development Centre (AMDC), in place of the Australia-based Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) reporting standard.

According to him, PARC offers a transparent, globally competitive and Africa-focused framework for reporting mineral and energy resources while taking into account the continent's unique geological and environmental realities.

The minister further proposed the establishment of a West African minerals processing corridor stretching from Lagos to Dakar, modelled after the successful Lobito Corridor. He said the initiative would enable participating countries to specialise in processing different minerals, lower investment costs, deepen regional industrialisation and boost intra-African trade.

Alake noted that trade among African countries currently stands at about 16 per cent, significantly lower than Asia's 60 per cent and Europe's 70 per cent, stressing that stronger regional integration remains critical to maximising the continent's mineral wealth.

President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Sidi Ould Tah, described it as a contradiction that Africa possesses some of the world's largest deposits of critical minerals yet continues to record modest GDP growth and limited foreign direct investment from the sector, emphasising the need for the continent to convert its mineral endowment into broad-based economic prosperity through improved financing mechanisms, industrial development and strategic investment in mineral value chains.

The forum ended with the adoption of the Abidjan Declaration, a landmark framework committing African countries to harmonised critical minerals policies, expanded regional infrastructure, value-chain development and increased capital mobilisation.

Under the declaration, the AfDB pledged to leverage its financial instruments, technical expertise and capital mobilisation capacity to support mineral-producing countries, de-risk investments, finance critical infrastructure and accelerate sustainable mineral value chains across Africa.

The meeting brought together more than 20 African ministers responsible for mining, energy, industry and natural resources, alongside representatives of the AfDB, Afreximbank, the U.S. Export-Import Bank and leading international mining companies.

Participants unanimously agreed that greater regional collaboration, local value addition and African ownership of the continent's mineral resources remain indispensable to achieving sustainable industrialisation, economic diversification and long-term prosperity across Africa.