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Africa is set to intensify its push for greater control of its critical minerals wealth as the Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) convenes a high-level summit in New York next month.
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.
The meeting, themed “From Resources to Wealth: Continental Cooperation for Mineral Value Addition,” will bring together African Heads of State and Government representatives, ministers, global investors, development finance institutions, and major players in mining, technology, processing, logistics and mineral traceability.
President Bola Tinubu, who is also Chairperson of the AMSG General Assembly, is expected to chair the roundtable, underscoring Africa’s renewed determination to place critical minerals at the centre of its industrial and economic agenda.
Critical minerals such as lithium, copper, cobalt, graphite, manganese and rare earth elements have become increasingly important to electric vehicles, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, defence and other strategic industries.
Despite possessing some of the world’s largest deposits of these resources, Africa has for decades exported much of its minerals in raw form, with limited processing and value addition taking place on the continent.
AMSG said the pattern must change, stressing the need for African countries to move beyond the traditional extract-and-export model.
The New York meeting will focus on building integrated mineral value chains, attracting transformative capital, strengthening continental cooperation and ensuring that African countries secure a larger share of the wealth generated from their mineral resources.
The roundtable 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 meeting will be the unveiling of the Continental Integration and Economic Assurance Declaration (CIEAD), which AMSG says will provide a new framework for continental cooperation in critical minerals.
The declaration is expected to address policy coordination, investment mobilisation, mineral value addition, supply-chain security and mechanisms for strengthening Africa’s bargaining power in the global minerals economy.
AMSG will also propose a CIEAD Finance Window aimed at developing innovative financing structures to mobilise capital for mineral processing, infrastructure, technology and other components of Africa’s emerging mineral value chains.
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The roundtable will be convened by AMSG leadership, with the participation of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, who chairs the AMSG Ministerial Steering Committee, and AMSG Secretary-General, Moses Micheal Engadu.
Representatives of AMSG member states, multilateral organisations and development finance institutions, including the Africa Finance Corporation, are expected at the gathering.
Executives from major global mining, technology, mineral traceability and logistics companies will also participate.
According to AMSG, the gathering is designed to bridge the gap between policymakers, financiers and private-sector players seeking secure and sustainable supplies of critical minerals.
The group said the meeting would focus on practical and bankable opportunities rather than declarations, with discussions expected to centre on policy alignment, investment structures and projects capable of converting Africa’s mineral wealth into measurable economic benefits.
AMSG said the stakes go beyond mining, as the global race for critical minerals is reshaping economic and geopolitical relationships.
It noted that the transition to electric mobility, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, digital infrastructure, artificial intelligence and modern defence systems had intensified competition for secure mineral supplies.
The group said Africa must seize the opportunity to use its mineral endowment to drive manufacturing, technology transfer, infrastructure development, regional trade and job creation.
It stressed that the continent must move from being a source of raw materials for industries abroad to becoming an active architect of the emerging global minerals economy.
Established in January 2024 by African governments as a continental intergovernmental organisation and specialised agency for critical minerals development, AMSG coordinates critical-minerals policy, investment alignment, minerals security and Africa’s engagement with global partners.
