Africa is set to intensify efforts to secure greater control and economic value from its critical mineral resources as the Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) convenes a high-level roundtable in New York next month to promote continental cooperation, mineral value addition and investment mobilisation.
The Third AMSG High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development in Africa, scheduled for September 21, 2026, in Manhattan on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly, will bring together African leaders, ministers, investors, development finance institutions, multilateral organisations and executives from the mining, technology, processing, logistics and mineral traceability sectors.
The roundtable, themed “From Resources to Wealth: Continental Cooperation for Mineral Value Addition,” will be chaired by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is also Chairperson of the AMSG General Assembly.
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According to AMSG, the meeting aims to move Africa away from the traditional extract-and-export model towards integrated mineral value chains that enable the continent to capture a greater share of the wealth generated from its natural resources.
The organisation said the gathering was coming at a time when lithium, copper, cobalt, graphite, manganese and rare earth elements had become increasingly important to electric mobility, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and defence industries.
It noted that although Africa hosts some of the world’s most significant reserves of critical minerals, much of the continent’s mineral wealth had historically been exported with limited processing and value addition taking place locally.
AMSG said the New York meeting would seek practical solutions to reverse the trend through stronger continental cooperation, investment mobilisation, processing and refining, infrastructure development and supply chain security.
The roundtable will also mark a major step in the implementation of the Mutual Assured Development (MADE) Framework, launched at the African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit in Abuja earlier this year.
As part of the transition from strategic dialogue to implementation, AMSG said it would officially unveil the Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration (CIEAD) at the New York gathering.
The declaration is expected to establish a continental framework for cooperation on critical minerals, covering policy coordination, investment mobilisation, mineral value addition, supply chain security and mechanisms for strengthening Africa’s negotiating position in the global minerals economy.
A proposed CIEAD Finance Window will also be introduced to support innovative financing structures for mineral processing, infrastructure, technology and other components of emerging mineral value chains.
The roundtable will be convened by the AMSG leadership, including the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, who is Chairperson of the AMSG Ministerial Steering Committee, and the group’s Secretary-General, Moses Micheal Engadu.
AMSG said the meeting would feature ministerial representatives from member states, multilateral institutions and development finance institutions, including the Africa Finance Corporation, alongside executives from major global mining, technology, traceability and logistics companies.
It said the convergence of policymakers, financiers and private-sector players was expected to provide an opportunity to develop bankable projects, align policies and establish investment structures capable of transforming Africa’s mineral endowment into measurable economic value.
The group maintained that the stakes went beyond the mining sector, stressing that global competition for critical minerals had placed Africa at the centre of a rapidly changing economic and geopolitical landscape.
It said Africa could leverage its mineral resources to drive manufacturing, technology transfer, infrastructure development, regional trade and employment instead of remaining primarily a supplier of raw materials to industries outside the continent.
AMSG said the September roundtable would therefore focus on practical pathways for developing competitive mineral value chains and attracting long-term investments in processing, refining, manufacturing and related infrastructure.
The organisation described the meeting as a test of Africa’s capacity to act collectively as critical minerals become increasingly central to global economic and national security strategies.
It said the continent must transition from being a passive participant in global mineral supply chains to becoming an active architect of the emerging global mineral economy.
The Third AMSG High-Level Roundtable is strategically partnered and supported by Core International.
AMSG was established in January 2024 by African governments as a continental intergovernmental organisation and specialised agency for critical minerals development. It serves as a platform for coordinating critical minerals policy, investment alignment, minerals security and Africa’s engagement with global partners.
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