By Daniel Oluwatobiloba Popoola
President Bola Tinubu is set to lead a fresh continental push to stop Africa’s mineral wealth from leaving the continent largely as raw materials, as he chairs a high-level summit on critical minerals in New York next month.
The meeting, convened by the Africa Minerals Strategy Group on Monday, 21 September, 2026, will be held in Manhattan on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Tinubu, who is the Chairman of the AMSG General Assembly, will chair the Third High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development in Africa, with the gathering expected to bring together African leaders and government representatives, ministers, global investors, development finance institutions, multilateral organisations, and executives from mining, technology and logistics companies.
A statement issued by AMSG on Sunday said the summit, themed “From Resources to Wealth: Continental Cooperation for Mineral Value Addition,” comes as major economies intensify the search for secure supplies of minerals required for electric vehicles, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and defence technologies.
It read, “Africa is set to make a major push for greater control over its critical minerals future as the Africa Minerals Strategy Group convenes its Third High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development in Africa in Manhattan, New York, on September 21, 2026, on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly.
“The Roundtable will be chaired by His Excellency Bola Tinubu, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chairperson of the AMSG General Assembly, underscoring Africa’s determination to place critical minerals at the centre of the continent’s industrial, economic and geopolitical agenda.”
Africa holds substantial deposits of several minerals at the centre of the global scramble, including lithium, copper, cobalt, graphite, manganese and rare earth elements.
However, the continent has historically exported much of its mineral resources in raw or minimally processed form, leaving other regions to capture a larger share of the value from refining, manufacturing and finished products built from the minerals.
The AMSG said the New York meeting would seek to change that pattern by moving African countries towards greater processing, manufacturing and integration of mineral value chains.
“The Roundtable will focus on how African countries can move beyond the traditional extract-and-export model to build integrated mineral value chains, attract transformative capital, strengthen continental cooperation and secure a greater share of the economic value generated from Africa’s mineral resources,” the group said.
The meeting will also mark the next phase of the Mutual Assured Development framework launched at the African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit held in Abuja earlier in 2026.
At the New York gathering, African leaders and policymakers are expected to unveil the proposed Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration, which will provide a framework for cooperation on critical minerals.
The proposed declaration will cover policy coordination, investment mobilisation, local value addition, supply-chain security and efforts to strengthen Africa’s negotiating position in the global minerals economy.
A major component of the initiative is the proposed CIEAD Finance Window, designed to mobilise capital for mineral processing, infrastructure, technology and other segments required to build competitive value chains within Africa.
The AMSG said the initiative was intended to move beyond policy discussions towards concrete investment and implementation structures.
“Building on the Mutual Assured Development Framework, the New York gathering will mark a transition from strategic dialogue to structural execution,” the group said.
The meeting will be convened by the leadership of the AMSG, including the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, who chairs the AMSG Ministerial Steering Committee, and the Secretary-General of the group, Moses Michael Engadu.
The Africa Finance Corporation, other development finance institutions, multilateral organisations and private-sector players in mining, technology, mineral traceability and logistics are also expected to participate.
Established in January 2024 by African governments, the AMSG is a continental intergovernmental organisation focused on coordinating critical minerals policy, investment alignment, minerals security and Africa’s engagement with global partners.
Its mission is to strengthen Africa’s control over its mineral resources and ensure that the continent captures more of the value created from the minerals increasingly shaping the future global economy.
