Nigeria Pushes African Alliance to Add Value to Critical Minerals, To Stop Raw Materials Export

Reloaded News Desk

Nigeria has called for stronger cooperation among African countries to move the continent away from exporting raw minerals and towards local processing, manufacturing and value addition.

The call was made at the Africa Minerals Strategy Group High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development held on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu convened and chaired the meeting, with Vice President Kashim Shettima representing him at the event alongside Minister of Solid Minerals Development Dele Alake, who chairs the Africa Minerals Strategy Group.

The discussion focused on mineral value addition, data sovereignty, innovative financing and critical-minerals security.

Nigeria’s position is that African countries should capture more of the economic value generated from the continent’s mineral resources rather than exporting raw materials and importing finished products made from those same resources.

Critical minerals have become increasingly important to global industries including renewable energy, batteries, electronics, advanced manufacturing and defence.

The push for local processing also comes as countries around the world seek secure supplies of minerals needed for the energy transition and advanced technologies.

For Africa, the challenge is converting mineral wealth into industrial capacity, jobs, technology and government revenue.

The Nigerian government is therefore calling for greater continental cooperation as African countries negotiate their position in an increasingly competitive global market for critical minerals.

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