Tinubu to chair Africa minerals summit in US

President Bola Tinubu is set to lead a fresh continental push for greater African control over the processing and industrial use of the continent’s mineral resources when he chairs a high-level critical minerals summit in New York, US, next month.

Africa minerals summit, convened by the Africa Minerals Strategy Group, is scheduled for September 21, 2026, in Manhattan, on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Tinubu, who chairs the AMSG General Assembly, will lead the Third High-Level Roundtable on Critical Minerals Development in Africa.

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The summit is expected to attract African leaders and government representatives, ministers, global investors, development finance institutions, multilateral organisations, as well as executives from the mining, technology and logistics sectors.

In a statement issued on Sunday, the AMSG said the summit, themed “From Resources to Wealth: Continental Cooperation for Mineral Value Addition,” would focus on strengthening Africa’s position in the global critical minerals market.

The meeting comes amid growing competition among major economies for secure supplies of minerals needed for electric vehicles, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, digital infrastructure and defence technologies.

The statement said the roundtable would underscore Africa’s determination to place critical minerals at the centre of its industrial, economic and geopolitical agenda.

Africa holds substantial deposits of minerals including lithium, copper, cobalt, graphite, manganese and rare earth elements, which are increasingly important to global industries.

However, much of the continent’s mineral wealth has historically been exported in raw or…