Nigeria joined other African countries in backing a continental push to leverage Africa’s vast critical mineral resources for industrialisation, value addition and economic transformation rather than continuing the export of raw materials.

The call was made at the Ministerial Forum on Critical Minerals, Value Chains and Beneficiation, organised by the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, where African ministers, representatives of continental institutions, the private sector and development partners agreed that the continent’s critical minerals should drive a new era of industrial growth, job creation and shared prosperity, particularly for young people and women.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the forum, participants stressed that Africa must extract greater value from its abundant mineral wealth by developing regional value chains, expanding local processing capacity and building competitive industries instead of exporting unprocessed minerals.

The meeting, attended by ministers responsible for mines, energy, industry, natural resources and the green economy from across the continent.

Including Nigeria, underscored the importance of regional collaboration in ensuring Africa captures more value from the global energy transition.

Africa is estimated to hold about 30 per cent of the world’s critical mineral deposits, including cobalt, lithium, graphite, rare earths, platinum group metals, copper, manganese and nickel. However, the continent continues to export most of these minerals in raw form, capturing only a negligible share of their overall economic value.

The meeting, themed “Ministerial Forum on Critical Minerals, Value Chains, and Beneficiation: Pathways to Transformation for Africa,” also brought together representatives of the African Union Commission, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, regional development banks, technical partners and private sector stakeholders.