ABUJA — Africa is set to make a fresh push to take greater control of its critical minerals wealth as the Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) holds its Third High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development in Manhattan, New York, on September 21, 2026.
The meeting, which will be held on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly, is expected to bring together African leaders, ministers, global investors, development finance institutions, multilateral organisations and top executives in the mining, technology, processing, logistics and mineral traceability industries.
With the theme, “From Resources to Wealth: Continental Cooperation for Mineral Value Addition,” the summit will be chaired by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is the Chairperson of the AMSG General Assembly.
The development comes against the backdrop of growing global competition for critical minerals, including lithium, copper, cobalt, graphite, manganese and rare earth elements, which are vital to electric vehicles, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, defence and digital infrastructure.
Africa is endowed with some of the world’s largest deposits of several of these strategic minerals. However, the continent has historically exported much of its mineral resources with limited processing and value addition taking place locally.
AMSG said the model must change, stressing the need for African countries to move from the traditional “extract-and-export” system towards integrated mineral value chains that would generate greater economic benefits for the continent.
According to the group, the New York roundtable will focus on attracting transformative capital, strengthening continental cooperation, expanding local processing and refining capacity, securing mineral supply chains and increasing Africa’s share of the value generated from its resources.
The meeting will also advance the implementation of the Mutual Assured Development (MADE) Framework, launched at the African Natural Resources and Energy Investment Summit (AFNIS) 2026 in Abuja.
A major highlight of the New York gathering will be the unveiling of the Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration (CIEAD), which AMSG said would establish a new framework for cooperation on critical minerals.
The declaration is expected to address policy coordination, investment mobilisation, mineral value addition, supply-chain security and measures aimed at strengthening Africa’s negotiating position in the global minerals economy.
AMSG also plans to introduce the proposed CIEAD Finance Window, an innovative financing mechanism designed to mobilise capital for mineral processing, infrastructure, technology and other critical components of the continent’s emerging mineral value chains.
The roundtable will be convened by the AMSG leadership, including the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, who chairs the AMSG Ministerial Steering Committee, and the group’s Secretary-General, Moses Michael Engadu.
AMSG said the critical minerals agenda goes beyond mining, pointing to the growing demand for strategic minerals driven by electric mobility, renewable energy, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, digital infrastructure and modern defence systems.
It said Africa could leverage its vast mineral endowment to drive industrialisation, create jobs, expand regional trade, facilitate technology transfer and develop infrastructure rather than remain primarily a supplier of raw materials to industries outside the continent.
The New York meeting is expected to attract representatives of AMSG member states, multilateral institutions and development finance institutions, including the Africa Finance Corporation, alongside executives from major global mining, technology, logistics and mineral traceability companies.
AMSG said the gathering would focus on bankable opportunities, policy alignment and investment structures, rather than merely producing another set of declarations.
The organisation said the summit would test Africa’s ability to develop a coordinated strategy at a time when critical minerals are becoming increasingly important to global economic and national security interests.
It stressed that Africa must move from being a passive participant in global mineral supply chains to becoming an active architect of the emerging 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.
The organisation serves as a platform for coordinating critical minerals policies, investment alignment, minerals security and Africa’s engagement with global partners, with a mission to strengthen the continent’s control over its mineral wealth and promote local value addition.
