Tanzania’s Minister for Minerals, Anthony Peter Mavunde, has called on African countries to strengthen regional cooperation and invest in mineral processing to create jobs, build industries and retain more economic value from the continent’s natural resources.
Mr Mavunde said Africa risked losing significant economic opportunities by continuing to export raw minerals and import finished products, instead of developing industries that could process its resources and supply higher-value products to domestic and international markets.
He made the remarks on October 19, 2026, during a ministerial panel involving Tanzania, Nigeria and Liberia at the Mining in Motion conference in Accra, Ghana. The three-day meeting runs from October 19 to 21.
The discussion, themed “From Vision to Delivery: Making the African Mining Vision Work for Member States”, focused on how African countries can turn shared mining development commitments into practical economic gains.
Mr Mavunde said Africa holds more than 32 per cent of the world’s known critical mineral resources, but much of the continent’s wealth leaves without sufficient processing to generate jobs, industrial capacity and additional government revenue.
The challenge, he said, is to move beyond extracting minerals and exporting them in raw form towards building industries that can transform the resources into products with greater economic value.
“Now is the time for Africa to start working together. Africa is one, and we must work as one team,” he said.
His call comes as African countries seek to benefit more from growing global demand for critical minerals, which are increasingly important in clean energy technologies and other industrial applications.
For mineral-producing countries, the economic benefits depend not only on how much is extracted but also on how much processing, manufacturing and related business activity takes place locally.
Mr Mavunde cited Tanzania’s mining reforms as an example of efforts to increase domestic participation and value addition.
He said legal reforms introduced in 2017 had strengthened government oversight and participation in the sector, while measures restricting exports of raw minerals had encouraged more processing within the country.
Tanzania now has more than eight gold refineries and over 16 plants for processing and refining base metals, he said.
The mining sector contributes 10.3 per cent of Tanzania’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), while small-scale miners account for about 40 per cent of total mineral production, according to the minister.
The figures underline the sector’s importance to the economy and the need to ensure that its growth translates into wider opportunities for businesses, workers and communities.
However, expanding mineral processing requires more than restrictions on raw exports. It also depends on investment in reliable electricity, transport infrastructure, technology, skills and financing to enable local industries to operate competitively.
Mr Mavunde said regional cooperation could help African countries overcome some of the challenges associated with developing mineral value chains independently.
He identified Tanzania, Madagascar and Mozambique as having opportunities to cooperate in graphite development, processing and the alignment of policies.
Closer coordination among the three countries could support investment in processing facilities and create a regional value chain that delivers greater benefits to their citizens, he said.
Such cooperation could also help countries coordinate investment priorities and reduce the risk of pursuing similar mineral development strategies without taking advantage of their geographical and resource complementarities.
Mr Mavunde stressed that the African Mining Vision should move beyond policy documents and conference discussions to produce tangible results for member states.
He called for stronger mechanisms for dialogue and joint decision-making to speed up the implementation of agreed strategies.
The African Mining Vision seeks to promote the transparent, equitable and optimal exploitation of mineral resources to support broad-based development across the continent.
For Tanzania, implementing this approach would mean linking mining more closely with manufacturing, technology development and local business opportunities, rather than measuring progress primarily through mineral production and exports.
The minister urged African governments to focus on converting mineral wealth into industries, employment, technological advancement and increased public revenue.
Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama, who officially opened the conference, also called for a more strategic approach to the expanding global market for critical minerals.
He said Africa should prioritise adding value to its mineral resources before they reach international markets, particularly as demand rises due to the global transition towards cleaner energy.
The push for value addition presents African countries with an opportunity to strengthen their position in global supply chains. However, the benefits will depend on whether governments can turn policy commitments into viable processing investments, competitive industries and jobs for their growing populations.
For Tanzania and its regional partners, the key test will be whether closer cooperation and domestic processing can ensure that a greater share of the wealth generated by mining remains within the continent.