Nigeria, AfDB seek regional mineral processing to lift value addition as Africa’s intra-trade remains 16%

Nigeria and the African Development Bank (AfDB) are advocating greater regional cooperation in mineral processing to help African countries generate more value from their natural resources instead of exporting them in raw form.

The call was made at the Ministerial Forum on Critical Minerals, Value Chain and Beneficiation held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, where African ministers, development finance institutions and industry leaders discussed ways to strengthen the continent’s mining industry.

Dele Alake, Nigeria’s minister of solid minerals development, said African countries should move away from exporting raw minerals and invest in processing and manufacturing them locally before export.

According to him, processing minerals within Africa would create jobs, attract investment and enable countries to earn more from their 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 of our natural assets,” Alake said.

He urged African countries to work together on infrastructure, financing and technology instead of pursuing separate national strategies.

As part of this effort, Alake proposed the creation of a West African minerals processing corridor linking Lagos and Dakar.

He said the initiative would allow participating countries to share infrastructure, reduce processing costs, attract cross-border investment and share the risks and rewards of mineral development.

Alake, who chairs the Africa Mineral Strategy Group (AMSG), also called for African countries to take greater control of the systems used to assess and report their mineral resources.

He said the continent’s continued reliance on the Australia-based Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) reporting standard limits Africa’s ability to fully manage its mineral assets.

He urged countries to adopt the Pan African Resource Reporting Code (PARC), developed by the Africa Minerals Development Centre (AMDC), as a common reporting standard.

According to him, PARC would improve transparency, ensure consistent reporting and strengthen investor confidence while reflecting Africa’s unique geological and environmental conditions.

Alake also highlighted the low level of trade among African countries, noting that intra-African trade accounts for about 16 percent, compared with around 60 percent in Asia and 70 percent in Europe.

He said stronger regional cooperation would help Africa unlock greater value from its mineral resources.

Sidi Ould Tah, president of the AfDB, said Africa has some of the world’s largest deposits of critical minerals but has not gained the full economic benefits from them.

He identified limited financing and low investment as major challenges preventing African countries from developing local mineral processing industries and moving up the global mining value chain.

The forum ended with the adoption of the Abidjan Declaration, which places financing at the centre of efforts to transform Africa’s mining sector.

Under the declaration, the AfDB committed to providing financing, technical support and investment mobilisation to reduce the risks associated with strategic mining projects and attract more public and private sector investment.

The declaration also called on African governments to strengthen national and regional institutions that can support project financing, create quality jobs and build sustainable mineral value chains.

The forum 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 mining companies from Germany, Canada and the United States.

Participants agreed that stronger regional cooperation, better infrastructure and increased investment in local mineral processing are essential if Africa is to earn more from its mineral wealth and reduce its dependence on exporting raw materials.