Minister of Solid Minerals Development and Chairman of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group, Dr. Oladele Alake, has called on African nations to forge a unified and coordinated front in global mineral supply chains, warning that a fragmented continent would continue to export raw wealth while capturing only a fraction of the enormous economic value its resources generate.
Speaking at the Kenya Mining Investment Conference and Exhibition 2026, Alake said Africa stood at the centre of a new industrial era driven by critical minerals, clean energy technologies, digital transformation, and advanced manufacturing, but that the continent’s structural position in global markets had not yet reflected the scale of its natural endowments.
He noted that while Africa held vast deposits of lithium, cobalt, manganese, graphite, gold, copper, nickel, and rare earth elements, it continued to receive only a small portion of the economic value generated from those resources due to the dominance of raw material exports over processed and manufactured goods.
“For decades, Africa has remained largely an exporter of raw materials and an importer of finished products. This model has constrained industrial growth, weakened economic resilience and limited job creation across our nations,” he said, adding that no single African country acting alone could fully maximize the opportunities emerging from the rapidly evolving global minerals market.
He urged African nations to harmonize mining policies, facilitate cross-border infrastructure development, promote intra-African trade, and strengthen regional mineral value chains under the African Continental Free Trade Area. “A fragmented Africa weakens our bargaining power. A united Africa strengthens our strategic relevance,” he said.
Alake highlighted the rapid growth of the Africa Minerals Strategy Group, which was established in January 2023 by 16 founding member states and had since expanded to 31 African countries. He described the group as the first truly continent-wide platform through which African nations were building a unified voice on mineral governance, value retention, and strategic positioning in global supply chains.
He stressed that value addition across Africa’s mining sector was not merely an economic aspiration but a development imperative that created jobs for young people, stimulated industrialization, expanded government revenues, and positioned the continent competitively in the industries of the future. He warned that success would require stronger governance, policy consistency, transparency, environmental responsibility, and investment-friendly regulatory climates.
“Through visionary leadership, strategic partnerships and continental cooperation, Africa can transition from being merely resource-rich to becoming truly value-rich,” he said.
