Africa to Escalate Fight for Critical Minerals Control at 2026 UNGA

Africa is stepping up efforts to secure greater control over its critical mineral resources, with the Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) set to convene a high-level roundtable in New York next month as part of a broader push to promote mineral processing, investment and value addition on the continent.

This was revealed from a press statement from AMSG on Sunday.

The Third AMSG High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development in Africa is scheduled for September 21, 2026, in Manhattan, New York, on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly.

Held under the theme “From Resources to Wealth: Continental Cooperation for Mineral Value Addition,” the meeting is expected to bring together African Heads of State and Government representatives, ministers, investors, development finance institutions and major players in mining, mineral processing, technology, logistics and mineral traceability.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria, who chairs the AMSG General Assembly, is expected to preside over the roundtable, highlighting the growing importance African governments are placing on critical minerals as a driver of industrialisation and economic transformation.

AMSG was established by African governments to strengthen cooperation in the minerals and mining sector and promote exploration, extraction, production, local beneficiation and commercialisation. The inter-governmental organisation  was founded by 16 African countries: Botswana, Burundi, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The grouping has since expanded its reach, with African governments increasingly seeking a coordinated approach to mineral governance, investment and value retention.

Critical minerals including lithium, copper, cobalt, graphite, manganese and rare earth elements are essential to electric vehicles, renewable energy technologies, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, defence and other strategic industries.

Africa holds substantial deposits of many of these resources, yet much of the continent's mineral wealth has historically been exported in raw or semi-processed form. This has limited opportunities for African countries to capture greater economic value through processing, manufacturing, technology development and job creation.

AMSG argues that this extract-and-export model must give way to integrated mineral value chains that enable African countries to retain a larger share of the wealth generated from their natural resources.

The New York roundtable is therefore expected to focus on strengthening continental cooperation, mobilising transformative investment, developing processing capacity and building secure and integrated mineral supply chains.

The meeting will also advance implementation of the Mutual Assured Development (MADE) Framework, which was launched at the 2026 African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS) in Abuja.

A key outcome is expected to be the unveiling of the Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration (CIEAD), which AMSG says will establish a new framework for cooperation in the critical minerals sector.

The declaration is expected to address policy coordination, investment mobilisation, mineral value addition, supply-chain security and mechanisms for strengthening Africa's negotiating position in the global minerals economy.

AMSG is also expected to propose a CIEAD Finance Window, designed to develop innovative financing mechanisms for mineral processing, infrastructure, technology and other components of emerging African mineral value chains.

The initiative comes as African governments increasingly seek to move beyond simply supplying minerals to the global economy and instead position the continent as a major centre for processing, manufacturing and mineral-based industrial development.

Nigeria's Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, has previously stressed that fragmented approaches weaken Africa's bargaining power, while greater continental cooperation can strengthen the continent's position in global mineral markets.

Additional reporting:Various African online publications