Nigeria’s Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, has called on African countries to stop exporting raw minerals and instead focus on processing them locally to increase economic benefits across the continent.
Speaking at the Ministerial Forum on Critical Minerals, Value Chain and Beneficiation organised by the African Development Bank (AfDB) in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, Mr Alake urged African nations to adopt a coordinated approach to developing their mineral resources.
He said Africa must move beyond exporting raw materials and implement policies that promote local processing and greater ownership of its 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 and be in full control of our natural assets to ensure total economic freedom,” Mr Alake said.
The minister, who also chairs the Africa Mineral Strategy Group (AMSG), argued that Africa should take control of the systems used to assess its mineral resources instead of relying on the Australia-based Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) reporting standard.
“For the overall interest of the continent, and to efficiently and effectively safeguard its resources, Africa should take charge of the coding mechanisms utilised to assess its mineral assets,” he said.
Mr Alake proposed adopting the Pan African Resource Reporting Code (PARC), developed by the Africa Minerals Development Centre, saying it would improve transparency, consistency and ethical standards while reflecting Africa’s unique mineral resources.
He also proposed the creation of a West African minerals processing corridor stretching from Lagos to Dakar, modelled on the Lobito Corridor, to allow countries to share infrastructure, reduce costs and strengthen regional mineral value chains.
According to him, the initiative would promote industrialisation, create jobs and support economic growth across the region.
Mr Alake also expressed concern over Africa’s low level of intra-continental trade, noting that trade among African countries accounts for only 16%, compared with about 60% in Asia and 70% in Europe.
Also speaking at the forum, African Development Bank President Dr Sidi Ould Tah said Africa’s vast reserves of critical minerals had yet to deliver significant economic development because of inadequate financing and low levels of foreign direct investment.
The meeting concluded with the adoption of the Abidjan Declaration, under which the AfDB pledged to provide financing, technical expertise and investment support to help African countries develop sustainable mineral value chains and critical infrastructure.
