The Africa Minerals Strategy Group (AMSG) and the Council for Critical Minerals Development in the Global South (the Council) are joining forces to build local value chains for critical mineral resources and energy transition technologies across the continent.
Africa holds 30% of the world’s proven critical mineral reserves, including 55% of cobalt, 47% of manganese and 21% of natural graphite.
Officially announced at the SDG7 Action Forum in New York, AMSG and the Council will collaborate on delivering data and analytics and amplifying the voices and priorities of the Global South at regional and international events such as COP and G20.
AMSG is an intergovernmental body that works to harness the potential of Africa’s reserves through cooperation in the minerals and mining sector among member nations.
The 16 AMSG founding member nations are Botswana, Burundi, Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Malawi, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
The Council is an initiative established by the UN organisation Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), the Institute of Transportation Studies at University of California, Davis, and social enterprise Swaniti Global.
AMSG secretary-general Moses Micheal Engadu said there is “no chance of making the energy transition without Africa”, and that the continent’s “vast, largely unexplored and untapped reserves of significant mineral wealth are essential for the transition from natural gas to renewable energy materials”.
He added that the “current supply dynamics need re-evaluating to ensure Africa maximises its potential in the transition”.
As well as the AMSG and Council, the intergovernmental organisation and economic bloc BRICS also works to consolidate emerging critical materials markets in the Global South, including South Africa and Ethiopia.
BRICS allows for the increased participation of its seven non-African members in the African Continental Free Trade Area.
African governments have increasingly restricted or banned mineral exports to boost processing and retain profits from the end products.
