Africa is moving to place its critical minerals at the heart of a new industrialisation push. Ministers and development partners meeting in Abidjan set out a shift from exporting raw ores towards integrated regional value chains, local processing and competitive industries. With the continent holding roughly 30% of global critical mineral reserves yet capturing less than 5% of associated value added, the forum’s agenda signals a more assertive phase in how Africa intends to manage and monetise its mineral endowment.
From extraction to value chains
On 10 July 2026, the African Development Bank Group hosted the Ministerial Forum on Critical Minerals, Value Chains, and Beneficiation: Pathways for African Transformation in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The meeting convened African ministers responsible for mining, energy, industry, natural resources and the green economy, alongside the African Union Commission, the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Continental Free Trade Area Secretariat, regional development banks, investors and technical partners.
UNECA’s deputy executive secretary and chief economist, Hanan Morsy, underlined the scale of the opportunity and the current value gap. Africa hosts about 30% of global critical mineral reserves, including cobalt, lithium, graphite, rare earth elements, platinum group metals, copper, manganese and nickel, yet captures less than 5% of the value added generated along global supply chains. This leaves most jobs, technology and industrial capabilities offshore, even though these minerals are central to batteries, clean energy technologies and advanced manufacturing.
Forum participants argued that this model must change. They called for regional value chains that connect mineral deposits with energy systems, transport corridors, ports, industrial zones, skills and finance, rather than isolated national extraction projects. Morsy stressed that Africa’s comparative advantage lies in integrated regional value chains under AfCFTA, where countries specialise according to their strengths while collectively capturing more value. The focus, she said, should shift from what happens inside mines to what happens across borders, including trade, infrastructure and industrial ecosystems.
Côte d’Ivoire used the Abidjan meeting to highlight its own ambitions. Its Integrated Policy for Mineral Resources and Energy (PIRME) for 2026–2040 is set to require around 38,000 billion CFA francs (about US$63 billion) in investment to build a high-performing extractive industry and integrated value chains. That scale of planned spending points to the type of long-term capital deployment that other African states may need to consider if they aim to anchor processing and manufacturing capacity around their own resources.
Governance, data and new partnerships
The Abidjan forum also sent strong signals on governance and standards. Participants called for better geological data, harmonised regulatory frameworks and an African mineral certification system to support transparency, traceability and investor confidence. The aim is to move from fragmented national rules that weaken bargaining power to clearer, predictable regimes that can underpin cross-border projects and long-term capital commitments.
Jeremy Wiggins, deputy secretary for international affairs at the U.S. Department of the Treasury, framed governance as a competitive strength rather than a constraint. He argued that transparent and well-governed regulatory systems make investment endurable, reinforcing the message that global capital will back African processing and industrial projects where rules are clear and stable.
The forum’s declaration emphasised local processing of critical minerals, technology transfer, skills development and stronger African partnerships as pillars of this new phase. That aligns with a wider continental trend: countries such as Kenya are negotiating critical minerals deals that prioritise domestic refining, while others are tightening export rules on unprocessed ores. Analysts note that Africa’s mineral base includes around 55% of global cobalt deposits, almost half of manganese and over 20% of natural graphite, placing the continent near the core of energy-transition supply chains.
For investors, the signals from Abidjan are clear. Africa is positioning its critical minerals as a lever for industrialisation, energy security and job creation, rather than simply a source of raw inputs. As policy frameworks evolve and projects emerge around regional corridors, battery metals processing and mineral-linked manufacturing, investors will need to watch how quickly regulatory harmonisation, certification schemes and infrastructure plans translate into bankable transactions across mining, energy and industry.
