Pioneer African Roundtable at FMF proffers suggestions for responsible supply of minerals
Pioneer Africa Roundtable at FMF
Photo by Creamer Media's Tasneem Bulbulia
Future Minerals Forum 2025
Photo by Creamer Media's Tasneem Bulbulia
The fourth edition of the Future Minerals Forum (FMF), held last week in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, hosted a pioneer Africa leadership roundtable, part of a series of regional roundtables that brought together supplier nations with the aim of effecting global minerals change.
Participants included Ministers from various countries across the continent, as well as industry leaders and private-sector stakeholders.
Key issues raised at the roundtable included the importance of traceability, proper governance, stability, technology, value addition, exploration and collaboration.
Participants in the Roundtable acknowledged and welcomed the first anniversary of the formation of the African Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG), established on January 9, 2024, on the sidelines of last year’s FMF.
Key to the group is promoting the sustainable extraction, production, beneficiation and commercialisation of the continent’s minerals.
Cooperation and strategic partnerships are also crucial to the AMSG and the importance of hosting a focused African Roundtable at FMF was therefore highlighted.
The AMSG is seeking to address the issue of responsible supply through the launch of two initiatives.
Firstly, late last year, the strategy group launched the Africa Responsible Mineral Sourcing Initiative, which aims to unites countries, industry and civil society to build a responsible ecosystem in Africa, This will be anchored on the development of guidelines for the continent for responsible sourcing, expected to be released early this year.
Moreover, the AMSG launched a blockchain platform, which aims to ensure responsible supply chains and traceability in Africa.
The need for policies, laws and regulations across the different African countries to be harmonised was mentioned, with this posited to guide the responsible and sustainable use of minerals on the continent.
There was also a call for collaboration between neighbouring countries, as often, illegally acquired minerals were smuggled across borders, certified in a new location and then exported as legitimate product.
The challenge of underdeveloped technology was highlighted, with this being needed to provide certification of minerals.
Moreover, technology was noted to be unaffordable in many instances. Collaboration was suggested as key to unlocking this, with Saudi Arabia’s assistance also an option to be leveraged.
Another recommendation was implementing policies and technologies to ensure traceability from extraction to export.
It was mentioned that while issues such as traceability were importance, the continent must also ensure that it does not fall behind on things such as exploration, with Africa’s share of the global exploration budget falling considerably over the past decade and more.
The need to formalise artisanal mining was also stressed, with Uganda cited as an example. In 2022, the country implemented a new law that ringfenced areas for this for local citizens.
The Roundtable also called for value addition in Africa. A balanced approached was suggested for value addition, with export still pursued, while also ensuring that the continent became industrious.
It was also posited that value addition, even starting on a small scale, could create wealth and prosperity in countries, which could help alleviate conflict.
Speakers also mentioned the need for peace and stability in countries, as, without this, all of the other issues facing the mining industry would be less likely to be prioritised.
Moreover, instability was highlighted as one of the biggest challenges facing the industry, with this also hindering investment into the sector.
South Sudan’s representative also warned of the interference of regional and international powers, saying they were often involved in causing and maintaining instability, to satisfy their own agendas of controlling a country’s resources.
It was averred that African countries should commit to collaboration and create a conducive environment that could not be exploited by outside interests.
Speakers also called for internal reflection, to interrogate why a continent that was so richly endowed with mineral resources was so often impoverished. They further called for government and mining leaders to ensure that they were being transparent and honest, and for those that were not to be held properly accountable.
For example, a considerable challenge identified was that mining companies in some countries understated their production and export figures, to pay less in taxes.
Also highlighted was the need to attract more investment in exploration, with many minerals in the continent as yet to be discovered.
Moreover, with platforms like this and the AMSG, there was an opportunity to collaborate to unlock more opportunities in this sphere, it was said.
Private-sector suggestions included the importance of stability and infrastructure development in countries, as this would make them more amenable to deploy large amounts of capital in projects.
The importance of attracting quality investors was also highlighted, as these would implement best practices and community development.
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