Africa should prioritise value creation over resource export
The most urgent priority facing Africa today is to move from being a supplier of raw materials to becoming a value creator. Hitherto, the continent has exported its resources, to be processed elsewhere, which has left the continent poor, said Nigerian Solid Minerals Development Minister Dr Oladele Alake, in a keynote speech earlier this month at the Africa Mining Week 2025 conference, in Cape Town, delivered on his behalf by Nigerian Solid Minerals Department Permanent Secretary Yusuf Faruk Yabo.
Africa must transform its natural resources into a platform for industrial growth and development, he asserted. This was the policy of Nigeria.
To become a value creator, Africa needed to build five strategic pillars, he said.
The first was beneficiation and value addition and required the establishment of processing plants, including for rare earth minerals, as well as refineries for other metals.
The second was infrastructure and energy, since industrialisation needed reliable power and digital linkages.
Third, was technology and skills. Africa needed investment in research, technological education and innovation.
The fourth pillar was responsible and sustainable mining, as Africa could not industrialise at the expense of its people or the planet.
The fifth pillar focused on investment and policy alignment across the continent.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Research Reports
Projects
Latest Multimedia
Latest News
Showroom
Flatproofing tire technology engineered to perform in extreme mining environments.
VISIT SHOWROOM
Weir is a global leader in mining technology. We recognise that our planet’s future depends on the transition to renewable energy, and that...
VISIT SHOWROOM
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation
