L-R: Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs, Ali Joho; Governor of Zamfara State, Dr Dauda Lawal; Vice President of of Nigeria, Kashim Shettima; Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Mr Dele Alake; Secretary-General of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG), Moses Engadu and Eswatini’s Minister of Natural Resources and Energy, Prince Lonkhokhela Dlamini, during the 2nd AMSG High-Level Roundtable in New York, United States.
Africa is pushing for greater control of its critical minerals at a high-level summit in New York aimed at promoting value addition and continental cooperation.
The Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) said it would convene its Third High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development in Africa on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
In a statement by the AMSG desk issued to newsmen on Sunday in Abuja, the Roundtable to hold on Sept. 21 would be chaired by President Bola Tinubu, Chairperson of the AMSG General Assembly.
AMSG said the move underscored Africa’s determination to position critical minerals at the centre of the continent’s industrial, economic and geopolitical agenda.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the AMSG comprises more than 30 African countries, represented by ministers responsible for minerals and mining.
AMSG, chaired by Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, brings together ministers who work to promote common policies, local value addition and responsible mineral development.
The event to focus on the theme, “From Resources to Wealth: Continental Cooperation for Mineral Value Addition” comes at a pivotal moment in the global race for critical minerals.
This is as lithium, copper, cobalt, graphite, manganese, rare earth elements and other strategic resources have become increasingly essential to the technologies, energy systems, defence industries and manufacturing supply chains shaping the global economy.
According to AMSG, Africa holds significant reserves of many critical minerals, yet for decades, much of its mineral wealth has been exported with limited processing and value addition, a model AMSG is determined to change.
“The New York Roundtable will therefore focus on how African countries can move beyond the traditional extract-and-export model to build integrated mineral value chains.
“Attract transformative capital, strengthen continental cooperation and secure a greater share of the economic value generated from Africa’s mineral resources,” the statement said.
It said the roundtable was a major step toward the implementation of the Mutual Assured Development (MADE) Framework, unveiled at the African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS) 2026 in Abuja, Nigeria.
Building on that framework, AMSG said the New York gathering would mark a transition from strategic dialogue to structural execution, with the official unveiling of the Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration (CIEAD).
It said the declaration was expected to provide a new continental architecture for cooperation around critical minerals, including policy coordination, investment mobilisation and mineral value addition.
It would also address supply-chain security and mechanisms for strengthening Africa’s negotiating position in the global minerals economy.
According to AMSG, the global transition to electric mobility, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and modern defence systems is intensifying competition for secure supplies of critical minerals.
This, AMSG said, had placed Africa at the centre of a rapidly changing global economic and geopolitical landscape.
It said the continent now has an opportunity to leverage its mineral endowment to drive manufacturing, technology transfer, infrastructure development, regional trade and job creation rather than remain primarily a source of raw materials for industries elsewhere.
The roundtable, it said, aims to examine practical pathways for African countries to develop integrated and competitive mineral value chains and strengthen intra-African cooperation.
It also seeks to attract long-term investment into processing, refining, manufacturing and related infrastructure.
AMSG said the roundtable would focus on bankable opportunities, policy alignment, investment structures and mechanisms capable of converting Africa’s mineral endowment into measurable economic value.
