Africa Must Utilise Its 30% Global Share of Minerals, Halt Export - AfDB
The African Development Bank is urging African nations to stop exporting raw critical minerals and instead focus on local processing to capture more economic value. The initiative aims to boost industrialization and job creation across the continent.
Why it matters
Shifting from raw material export to local beneficiation is a critical strategy for African economic sovereignty and long-term industrial development.
Abuja - The African Development Bank (AfDB) has urged African countries to halt the export of raw critical minerals and instead focus on local processing, beneficiation and regional value chains to unlock greater economic value from the continent's vast mineral resources.
The call was made at the Ministerial Forum on Critical Minerals, Value Chains, and Beneficiation held in Abidjan, C te d'Ivoire, where African ministers, representatives of continental institutions, the private sector and development partners adopted a declaration aimed at accelerating industrialisation through value addition.
In a communiqu issued at the end of the meeting, participants stressed that Africa, which holds about 30 per cent of the world's critical mineral deposits, must move away from the long-standing practice of exporting unprocessed minerals and instead build competitive industries capable of creating jobs, particularly for women and young people.
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