AMSG Takes Africa’s Raw Mineral Export Crisis to UNGA, Pushes Continental Value Addition

Folalumi Alaran in Abuja

The Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) is set to push Africa’s growing campaign against the export of raw and minimally processed minerals to the global stage, with a high-level roundtable scheduled for September 21, 2026, in New York, on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly.

The meeting comes as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zimbabwe, Namibia and Tanzania intensify measures to restrict the export of unprocessed or minimally processed minerals in a bid to retain greater economic value within their economies.

AMSG said the developments reflect a fundamental shift in Africa’s mineral agenda, from simply extracting and exporting resources to capturing more of the value generated from them through processing, manufacturing and integrated supply chains.

The Third AMSG High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development in Africa, themed “From Resources to Wealth: Continental Cooperation for Mineral Value Addition,” will bring together African leaders, ministers, investors, development finance institutions, multilateral organisations and global industry players.

The roundtable will be chaired by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Chairperson of the AMSG General Assembly.

The DRC recently suspended exports of copper and cobalt concentrates, while Zimbabwe suspended exports of raw minerals and lithium concentrates in February 2026 to accelerate domestic value addition.

Namibia has also restricted exports of unprocessed lithium, cobalt, manganese, graphite and rare earth minerals, while Tanzania previously imposed restrictions on exports of unrefined metallic minerals.

Nigeria has similarly maintained that the era of exporting minerals from the pit to the port must end.

According to AMSG, however, individual national measures cannot deliver the scale of transformation Africa requires.

The group said the continent needs coordinated action to establish integrated processing hubs, strategic transport and energy corridors, harmonised policies, transparent and traceable supply chains and financing mechanisms capable of supporting mineral-linked infrastructure and value addition.

The New York roundtable is expected to culminate in the adoption and signing of the Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration (CIEAD), building on the Mutual Assured Development (MADE) Framework launched at the African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS) 2026 in Abuja.

CIEAD is designed to provide an architecture for continental cooperation on mineral value chains, strategic infrastructure, policy coordination, investment mobilisation and Africa’s collective position in the global critical minerals economy.

A proposed CIEAD Finance Window will also seek to mobilise capital for mineral processing, infrastructure, technology and other components of Africa’s emerging mineral value chains.

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development and Chairperson of the AMSG Ministerial Steering Committee, Dele Alake, said Africa must decide whether it would continue exporting its resources and importing finished value or develop the industrial capacity to create that value locally.

“Africa’s critical minerals are no longer simply a geological opportunity; they are a strategic economic opportunity,” Alake said.

He said recent developments in the DRC, Zimbabwe and other African countries showed that the continent was awakening to the need for greater value addition.

“Export restrictions alone are not the destination. The destination is continental integration, value addition and industrialisation. That is what the AMSG Roundtable in New York is designed to advance,” he said.

The roundtable is being convened by Alake and the Secretary-General of AMSG, Moses Micheal Engadu.

It is expected to feature representatives of AMSG member states, multilateral institutions, development finance institutions, including the Africa Finance Corporation, and executives from the mining, technology, traceability and logistics sectors.

AMSG said the meeting would focus on bankable opportunities, policy alignment, investment structures and mechanisms capable of converting Africa’s mineral endowment into manufacturing, technology, infrastructure, jobs and long-term economic value.

The organisation said Africa’s critical minerals had become increasingly important to the global energy transition, advanced technology, manufacturing and national security, placing the continent at the centre of growing competition for secure mineral supply chains.

Established in January 2024 by African governments as a continental intergovernmental organisation and specialised agency for critical minerals development, AMSG said its mission was to strengthen Africa’s agency over its mineral wealth, promote local value addition and advance continental cooperation.

The Third AMSG High-Level Roundtable is strategically partnered and supported by Core International.